EU Film Festival begins first public showings tomorrow at 2:30 pm!
Chiang Mai movies beginning Thursday, November 5, 2009
… through Wednesday, November 11
by Thomas Ohlson
Best Bets: Michael Jackson’s “This Is It!” Surrogates.
EU Film Festival in Chiang Mai: Nov 5 to 15. At Vista at Kad Suan Kaew.
World Film Festival in Bangkok: Nov 6 to 15.
EU Film Festival in Bangkok: Nov 19 to 29.
This is Issue Number 1 of Volume 5 of these listings, beginning our fifth year! The first issue came out November 3, 2005. Wow!
Major Cineplex has a special: All regular seats 60 baht on Wednesdays. (No, not for Michael Jackson.)
Now playing in Chiang Mai * = new this week
* Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea / Gake no ue no Ponyo / 崖の上のポニョ: Japan, Animation/ Adventure/ Family – 103 mins –
* Land of the Lost: US, Adventure/ Comedy/ Sci-Fi – 102 mins – Only loosely based on the original TV series, Land of the Lost is decidedly less kid-friendly and feels more like a series of inconsistent sketches than a cohesive adventure comedy. Generally unfavorable reviews: 32/41 out of 100. At Airport Plaza only.
ReelViews, James Berardinelli: Dull, unfunny, and completely unsuitable for viewing by anyone who isn't a charter member of the Will Farrell fan club.
Wall Street Journal, Joe Morgenstern: This dramatically, thematically and artistically bankrupt comic fantasy cost something in the neighborhood of $100 million to make and isn’t worth the celluloid it’s printed on.
Hollywood Reporter, Kirk Honeycutt: Lame sketch comedy, an uninspired performance from Will Ferrell and an overall failure of the imagination turn BradSilberling'sLand of the Lost into a lethargic meander through a wilderness of misfiring gags.
Roger Ebert: Land of the Lost inspires fervent hatred, which with the right kind of movie can be a good thing… Amid widespread disdain, I raise my voice in a bleat of lonely, if moderate, admiration. I guess you have to be in the mood for a goofball picture like this. I guess I was.
* Vanquisher / Suay ... Samurai /สวย...ซามูไร: Thai, Action/ Thriller – 90 mins – After completing a covert mission in southern Thailand, CIA agent Genja finds herself forced to fight off rival operatives who’ve been ordered to take her out at all costs. She survives and after two years of lying low, re-emerges in Bangkok to face her old foes and foil a plot to detonate a bomb. (18+)
Wise Kwai: With a fresh dose of bright red CGI blood to go with the catsuit-clad, cleavage-baring female swordfighters, this long-in-the-works action flick will finally see the dark of cinema halls on November 5. Directed by veteran Manop Udomdej, the film stars Sophita Sribanchean, playing Genja, a CIA agent betrayed by rival operatives.
Michael Jackson’s “This Is It”: US, Documentary/ Music – 112 mins – Brilliant! Don’t miss it! This performance film, comprised of rehearsal footage for the show Michael was working on at the time of his death, opened world-wide on October 28, for two weeks only. Here in Chiang Mai it’s at Major Cineplex at Airport Plaza in digital format in their new digital-equipped cinema. Tickets are 150 baht.
It’s a spectacular show with Michael at the top of his form, looking great, and moving in a way that is a wonderment. Generally favorable reviews: 67/70 out of 100. But I think it’s way better than that, and I highly recommend you see it.
Kenny Ortega (director of the High School Musical series of films) was both Michael Jackson's creative partner and the director of the stage show, and he also directed the film. He says, "It will also show Michael as one of the greatest entertainers in the world and one of the industry's most creative minds…I think the footage will show that the process was something that Michael deeply enjoyed and that it was clear he was on his way to another triumph."
Indeed, that’s exactly what it shows!
For more discussion, see last week’s issue.
Surrogates: US, Action/ Sci-Fi/ Thriller – 104 mins – I really enjoyed this, and I think you would too. I urge you to see it. Set in a futuristic world where humans live in isolation and interact through surrogate robots, a cop (Bruce Willis) investigates the murder of the genius college student whose father invented the surrogates. As the case grows more complicated, the withdrawn detective discovers that in order to actually catch the killer he will have to venture outside the safety of his own home for the first time in many years, and enlists the aid of another agent (Radha Mitchell) in tracking his target down. Mixed or average reviews: 45/53 out of 100. Nevertheless, I recommend it highly.
For more discussion, see last week’s issue.
과속스캔들/ Scandal Makers (Speedy Scandal) / ลูกหลานใครหว่าป่วนซ่านายเจี๋ยมเจี้ยม: Korea, Comedy/ Drama – 108 mins – A big hit in Korea, this film is Korea's highest-grossing comedy of all time, with 8.2 million admissions .Comedic favorite Cha Tae Hyun (My Sassy Girl) stars in this surprise hit, which tells the story of a former pop idol who enters panic mode when he discovers he may have a teen daughter. Unfortunately, the film is being shown here in a Thai-dubbed version only, with no English subtitles. It’s the worst possible way to experience it, in my opinion. At Airport Plaza only.
For more discussion, see last week’s issue.
Bangkok Traffic Love Story / Rot Fai Faa Ma Ha Na Tur (I Ride the Skytrain to See You) / รถไฟฟ้า..มาหานะเธอ: Thai, Romance/ Comedy – 120 mins – A cute-looking romantic comedy about a 30 year old single woman who is suddenly forced to give up her car and ride the Bangkok public transportation system, where she falls for a maintenance engineer of the BTS system. Immensely popular and tops at the box office.
For more discussion, see last week’s issue.
Wise Kwai: Score: 3 out of 5 = Just okay.
Haunted University / MahalaiSayongkwan / มหา'ลัยสยองขวัญ: Thai, Horror/ Thriller – 90 mins – Based on various horror and ghost tales from universities, the film tells the stories of students who encountered paranormal events that haunted them in their university days, and their fight against their fears. Wise Kwai, the Bangkok journalist, calls this “Great!” You can read his rather extensive discussion on his blog here.
I am less enthusiastic than he about this film, as I found it generally a run-of-the-mill exercise in Thai horror, with nothing to distinguish itself. I thought it more illogical than most such films; a movie without thought, and tasteless and at times disgusting. I must admit there were a lot of giggles in the audience during the most comic of the four stories, about a hapless dental student afraid of corpses who has to stand duty in a morgue. But mostly I thought the acting amateurish, and the direction unmotivated and nonsensical. More silly and childish than scary.
Wise Kwai: Four loosely joined but solidly scary ghost stories that take place in the halls of higher learning. Score: 4 out of 5 = Great!
2012: US/ Canada, Action/ Drama/ Sci-Fi/ Thriller – Director Roland Emmerich has given movie watchers several apocalyptic films in the past in Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow, and he offers another look at the end of the world in 2012. This action film stars John Cusack, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Amanda Peet. The film proves conclusively that the world will end on December 21, 2012, so let’s hope the studio recoups its investment before then. It’s the Mayan Long Count calendar that contains the proof, and it’s irrefutable. Don’t make any plans for Christmas that year! For further information, read John Major Jenkins, Maya Cosmogenesis 2012: The True Meaning of the Maya Calendar End-Date (1998).
The September Issue: US, Documentary – 90 mins – A documentary chronicling Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour's preparations for the 2007 fall-fashion issue. The September 2007 issue of Vogue magazine weighed nearly five pounds, and was the single largest issue of a magazine ever published. With unprecedented access, The September Issue, directed and produced by R.J. Cutler, tells the story of legendary Vogue editor in chief Anna Wintour and her larger-than-life team of editors creating the issue and ruling the world of fashion. Generally favorable reviews: 69/70 out of 100.
Rotten Tomatoes: This doc about the making of Vogue's biggest issue and its frosty editor-in-chief is fascinating eye candy and light-on-its-feet fun.
And looking forward:
Nov 26 – Paranormal Activity: US, Horror/ Mystery/ Thriller – 86 mins – After moving into a suburban home, a couple becomes increasingly disturbed by a nightly demonic presence, as the house makes no secret of the fact it is not pleased with its new tenants. Opinions are all over the lot on this one, but most give a thumb’s up. Rated R in the US for language. Generally favorable reviews: 68/72 out of 100.
Rotten Tomatoes: Using its low-budget effects and mockumentary method to great result, Paranormal Activity turns a simple haunted house story into 90 minutes of relentless suspense.
Film Threat, Felix Vasques, Jr.: This is a brutal, exhausting, and genuinely horrifying little ghost flick.
Roger Ebert: An ingenious little horror film, so well made it's truly scary.
Rolling Stone, Peter Travers: With a $15,000 budget too puny to empty a petty-cash drawer, the no-frills Paranormal Activity comes packed with thrills.
New York Post, Lou Lumenick: Like legendary producer Val Lewton in the '40s, director Oren Peli, who shot "Paranormal" in seven days in his own home, understands that what's most frightening is what you don't see but merely suggested.
The New York Times, A.O. Scott: A crudely made, half-clever little frightener that has become something of a pop-culture sensation and most certainly the movie marketing story of the year. Midnight showings in college towns and then in big cities, announced through minimal, viral publicity, have generated frenzied word of mouth and long lines at the box office. And now, to capitalize on this success, Paramount is giving the movie, written and directed by Oren Peli on a minuscule budget of $10,000, a full commercial release. Starting today, you can see it during daylight or dinner hours. It won’t be the same, though. At the midnight screening I attended last weekend, by far the most entertaining thing about the movie was the audience.
Nov 26 – Julie & Julia: US, Biography/ Comedy/ Drama/ Romance – 123 mins – Meryl Streep gives a charismatic performance as Julia Child, and Amy Adams is Julie Powell in writer-director Nora Ephron’s adaptation of two bestselling memoirs: Powell’s Julie & Julia and My Life in France, by Julia Child with Alex Prud’homme. “Based on two true stories, Julie & Julia intertwines the lives of two women who, though separated by time and space, are both at loose ends...until they discover that with the right combination of passion, fearlessness, and butter, anything is possible.” Generally favorable reviews: 66/67 out of 100.
Nov 26 – The Fourth Kind: US, Horror/ Mystery/ Sci-Fi/ Thriller – 98 mins – “There are four kinds of alien encounters. The fourth kind is abduction.” Fact-based thriller involving an ongoing unsolved mystery in Alaska, where one town has seen an extraordinary number of unexplained disappearances during the past 40 years and there are accusations of a federal cover up. If you’re already reading this before seeing the movie, it’s nearly too late. Do yourself a favor and don't read anything more about the film before you go in. This is a movie that needs to be taken in with a blank and open mind to be appreciated.
Nov 26 – Disney’s A Christmas Carol: US, Animation/ Drama/ Family/ Fantasy – 96 mins – Starring Jim Carrey, GaryOldman, Colin Firth, and Bob Hoskins. Director Robert Zemeckis (The Polar Express) continues to work his holiday magic. This 3-D adaptation of the Charles Dickens classic uses the motion capture technology previously seen in the filmmaker's Beowulf.
Movie Scores
The scores given, on a basis of 100, are from two web sources. The first, in bold, is from Metacritic.com, and the other is from RottenTomatoes.com. Both read a great number of critics and convert what is said into scores, which are then averaged. For movies released in the US only.
The new website redesign for MovieSeer
Major Cineplex – Airport Plaza
Schedule on MovieSeer (newly redesigned; not working too well)
[In the large form on the right side, select in the center box first Major Cineplex, and then Chiang Mai. If it’s not there, it's because it hasn't been entered yet – try again later. On the next line, make sure “By Theater Group” is checked. Then click “Search”.]
Vista – Kadsuankaew
Schedule on MovieSeer (newly redesigned, not working too well)
[In the large form on the right side, select in the center box – way at the bottom – “Other Group”, and then “Kadsuankaew”. If it’s not there, it's because it hasn't been entered yet – try again later. On the next line, make sure “By Theater Group” is checked. Then click “Search”.]
