Songphon's profileSunny's (yet another on-...PhotosBlogListsMore ![]() | Help |
|
|
May 13 I've moved!No, I am not moving anywhere physically but virtually online. As there are a number of limitations on MSN Live Spaces, I decided to switch to other weblog service which is more flexible. Please be notified that from now on I will continue blogging at my new home in cyberspace. Bookmark it, syndicate it or digg it as you like by following the link below.
May 12 Epic MovieIt has become some kind of tradition that popular Hollywood movies would be retold in another version. Before, there were parody movies which transformed all thrillers into comedy films with the name "Scary Movie" which isn't scary at all. Now, come the new film from the team behind those funny "Scary Movie" franchise called "Epic Movie." It's certainly a funny idea to mix all the plots and characters of last year (and beyond) big Hollywood movie into one extremely hilarious film. Those who watched or knew all the films being featured would find it funny just to see all the ripped-off work they made from those beloved films - sometimes they went beyond limit and it might disturb some easily offense audience. However, all in all, "Epic Movie" is funny and made a very good cultural reference of American cinema and popular icons of 2006. The main plot of "Epic Movie" followed the life of 4 orphans who discovered a secret wardrobe to the "Gnarnia Kingdom" where they have to fight with the evil White Witch to fulfill the prophecy and restore the peace to the land. Come to think of it, I could narrate the name of the movies which are featured in this film as follow: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Da Vinci Code, Nacho Libre, X-Men: The Last Stand, Snakes on a Plane, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Harry Potter, Superman Returns, Click, Casino Royale, Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan and much more. If you are well aware of American culture and celebrities as well as gossip entertainment news, you could easily understand all the puns in the movie. If not, it would be just another comedy with a few laughs for you. Some scenes might not make any sense, they are just there to intervene all the stories together. The effort of mixing up all movies together should be praised, but it depends on your taste and style - like it or not, it's up to you. 2 stars out of 5 - Don't expect too much for this kind of movie. Watch it in theater if you have spare time (and money for the tickets). If not, wait for the DVD to come out. There might be more hilarious outtakes and some more special features to watch anyway. May 10 伤城 (Seung sing) a.k.a. Confession of PainI meant to write about this Hong Kong cop thriller movie since last week but there's something more interesting that I can't help sharing with you all. (Read >>> "Do You Believe in Happenstance?") Now, it's time to talk about this one good movie from Hong Kong that didn't come out in a while. The movie is mainly about revenge and how painful it is to endure all those hatred feeling inside yourself for years. A cop became private detective is hired to investigate a rob and murder case which all evidences point out that his former supervisor is a prime suspect. Half way through the movie, we all knew who was a murderer, but what we didn't know was the reason behind his painful revenge... Andrew Lau, as a producer and co-director, and Alan Mak, as a co-director and co-scriptwriter, knew what they're doing and did it well in this movie. Story-wise, it's challenging to present the main plot by revealing who the murderer is earlier in the film. Tony Leung Chiu Wai's powerful performance in this movie is exceptional fantastic. The cinematography is superb, contemporary Hong Kong is portrayed perfectly in the film. It's no wonder why Hollywood is interested in the film and the rights to remake this movie into American scene has been settled, following its predecessor - Infernal Affairs Trilogy which became American "the Departed." 5 stars out of 5 - recommend to those who loved those good old days when Chinese contemporary movie ruled in Thai cinema. P.S. Check out an official website at <http://www.confessionofpain.com/> May 08 門徒 (Moon to) a.k.a. ProtégéThis Hong Kong crime movie tells a story of an undercover cop who spent almost all his career working (as a spy) with the top heroin dealers in Hong Kong, gaining his trust to be the drug lord's successor while trying to bring down this devil drug organization. On the personal side, the undercover cop befriended with his neighbor, a poor drug-addicted young single mother of a cute little girl, who was a victim of her drug-addicted husband whom she ran away from. Everyone plays a part in this drug business, gaining something or losing something. The film is directed and written by Derek Yee Tung Sing with a star-studded cast of Andy Lau Tak Wah (as a drug lord), Daniel Wu Yin Cho (as an undercover cop) and Louis Koo Tin Lok (as a bad drug-addicted husband.) The story of drug trafficking is well portrayed in this movie, thanks to an excellent research by the writer/director. Even though the plot is not new, the audiences could enjoy the way the story is told and developed, with some classic car chasing and cop action scenes of Hong Kongian trademark. The performance by the cast is fine, especially the new-comer Zhang Jing Chu whose role as a drug-addicted woman represented perfectly the innocent victim of heroin. All in all, it's another good Hong Kong movie with good intention message. No matter how they say, drug is bad and people should avoid it at all cost. 4 Stars out of 5, recommend to Chinese movie-lover. You won't be disappointed with this film. P.S. A part of the movie was filmed in Thailand. Even though, it didn't mention in the film, we could imply that there are opium fields and heroin factory in the Northern part Thailand (as a part of the "Golden Triangle") It's sad but true that foreigners looked at Thailand this way. I also would like to point out, and this is not related directly to the story, that elephants were featured in the film somehow represent the idea of foreigners looking at Thailand. There are other choices of transport, why elephants??? May 04 "Dek Hor" a.k.a. "Dorm" Won Again!I have just been informed by P'Yong the director of the movie "Dek Hor" a.k.a. "Dorm" that his film has just received the Older Audience Award at the 8th Leeds Young People's Film Festival, held from March 29th to April 6th 2007. It's almost exactly the same time that the team of director and lead actors went to attend the 9th Deauville Asian Film Festival in France. Congratulations to the director Songyos "Yong" Sugmakanan and all cast & crew of the movie. The award added another international recognized trophy to an array of awards that the movie has received so far. This reflected that good movie could be appreciated by everyone. Check out the official website of the 8th Leeds Young People's Film Festival to see full result of winning films at Leeds Film Homepage: http://www.leedsfilm.com/ P.S. There is an error on the official website as it stated that Dorm (Dek Hor) came from Singapore instead of Thailand. See the screen capture below. Hopefully, the mistake would be amended soon as I have already sent an e-mail notifying the webmaster of Leeds Film Homepage. May 01 Spider-Man 3The greatest battle lies within. Spidy is back! We reunion once again in the latest and final trilogy of Marvel's Spider-man movie starring familiar cast of Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker, a man who got bitten by the supernatural spider and became everybody's hero - Spider-Man, Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane Watson, an actress and love-interest of Spider-man, and James Franco as Harry Osbor, a friend become enemy of Spider-Man in a disguise of New Goblin, a sucessor of his father's Green Goblin. We also see a couple of new rivals of our beloved Spidy, namely Sandman, a guy whose body was transformed into sand, and Venom, an outer-space parasite which consumed the host's wrath to become a gruesome creature. We all saw Spider-Man in black suit and his enemies from posters and advertising materials previously released prior the film was out. Those certainly generated speculation of what the story of the movie would be. After watching the film, I could say that I satisfied with the story, even though some bits and parts are so cliche. You know where the story would lead once the main plot was established. With lots of character's introduction, the first part of the movie would be long and boring, but it's not the case for this movie thanks to comical relief which is scattered around the film. Once the story moved forward to the final part of the movie, we would see what we had not seen in the previous spider-man film - more fantastic actions and more emotional character development. Of course, we would see the dark side of Spider-man. This made it felt more realistic as no man is really good or bad. There are both sides of coin. All in all, Sam Raimi did an excellent job as a director. I really loved the final fighting scene with a surprise team-work and dual. 5 Stars out of 5 - recommend to all action movie and super-hero lovers. April 30 Ten Things I Hate About YouI found a piece of interesting and well-written poem regarding Thai-language newspaper nowadays printed in "editor's note" column of Guru magazine (page 4, Vol. 3 No. 17; April 27 - May 3, 2007) - a free weekly English-language Bangkok lifestyle & Entertainment magazine distributed by the Post Publishing Company Limited (Bangkok Post newspaper.) In fact, this poem is based on a 1999 teen-flick Hollywood movie "10 Things I Hate About You" which is in turn based loosely on Shakespeare's classic comedy "The Taming of the Shrewd." I really love the way the writer portrayed the so-called Thai tabloid-like newspaper in all aspects, just read it and you'll know what I mean. Ten Things I Hate About You I hate the way your dirty ink dirties my fingers And the way you become just another paper-bag for my meatballs at the street vendor. I hate the way you print pictures of dead bodies, right underneath half-nude young ladies. I hate that you report ridiculous stories. I hate your big dumb fonts And the way you grab my attention. I hate you so much I let my dog poo on you. It even makes me rhyme... badly. I hate it... I hate the way you exploit and exaggerate stories. I hate it when you put ugly blocks on the chest of half-nude young ladies. I hate it when you print maimed and bloody bodies; Even worse when you make me turn to the celebrity gossip stories. I hate it that you're around everyday And the fact that you make more advertising revenue than I do. But mostly I hate the way I can't stop reading your sensationalized stories, or staring at the half-nude young ladies; Not even close; Not even a little bit; Not even at all. April 26 Miss PotterNo, this movie has nothing to do with the young wizard Harry Potter even though it bears the same name. Well, what connects the two is that both are somehow related to English literature - Harry Potter is one of the most well-known modern day novels of young wizard while Miss Potter tells a story of Beatrix Potter, an author of one of the most beloved and well-known children's book of all time, "The Tale of Peter Rabbit". In fact, the movie narrates the life of a 32 years-old single Beatrix Potter, who decided not to get married all her life, trying to prove her capability to publish an illustrated novel. She somehow succeeds as the publishing company accepted her manuscript with a hidden agenda by appointing the youngest son of the family to look after Miss Potter's project. The story afterwards seems like a fairy-tale as the two fall in love. However, real-life is not bed of roses as the tragedy looms in... Renée Zellweger really shines in the leading role of Miss Potter. Her performance is impressively superb. When she felt happy, everything seems bright and sunny on the screen and while everything turned upside down, she perfectly portrays an unexpected emotion of a world torn apart. The art direction of the movie is fantastic, especially the animation of Peter the rabbit and his animal friends. The set and location of the movie is beautifully shot. You could just fall in love with the nature and the character. All in all, it's an amazingly feel-good movie of life and love with a spice of imagination. 5 Stars out of 5 - recommend to all - old and young, you could enjoy the movie in your own way. April 23 Do You Believe in "Happenstance"?Happenstances (noun) a circumstance especially that is due to chance. Today, I experienced the greatest happenstance I never imagine it would happen. It totally changed my point of view regarding what we called "happenstance." Now, I believe that everything could possibly happen no matter how slim chances are, intentionally or not. Let me tell you my story. Here it goes... Today I had an appointment with my friend to go watching movie at Lido Multiplex. First we met and went to Central Chidlom because I had a small business to handle there. My friend waited for me at B2S bookstore and once I finished, we ran back to Siam Square for dinner and later the movie. My friend mentioned to me that he found an advertisement featuring P'Yong (Songyos Sugmakanan, the director of Dorm) in the magazine he read while he was waiting for me. Once P'Yong told me that if I happened to see him in an article in any magazine or newspaper, I had to tell him so I was about to call P'Yong but I had to take a look at the magazine first to make sure that I got the correct magazine name. However, we had to hurry to the theater and I hadn't had a time to check the magazine yet. Later after the movie finished around 9.00 PM, we went to Siam Paragon and looked for a bookstore. We tried at least 3 book shops until we could find the magazine in question. I checked and confirmed that it was P'Yong in the advertisement page of the magazine and I was about to make a phone call to him. At that very moment, my friend told me to "tell P'Yong directly." I didn't think that he meant it "literally" but he did, as I saw P'Yong walked pass-by. This was unbelievable coincidence that I still couldn't believe it now that I am telling you the story. A series of events lead up to one after another and ended in a dramatic encounter of me and P'Yong in the most unbelievable coincidental moment. Finally, I could told him with my greatest surprise that it's really a "coincidence" to meet him at Siam Paragon at this hour of the day. Now, I could confirm you that what we usually see as coincidences in a novel or a movie and swear that it would never happen in real life could happen. At least, it DID happen to me today. Was it a destiny or a force of nature that make it happened? I don't know. All I know is that I DO believe now that anything could happen. Impossible is not true anymore. April 21 Meet the RobinsonsBased on the illustrated book "A Day with Wilbur Robinson" by William Joyce, this Walt Disney's latest 3-D animation movie tells a story of a young genius orphan boy named Lewis who always get an idea of inventions, even though he has never got it worked, he still keeps moving forward. Deep down inside of his mind, this 12-year-old boy always want a family who could adopt and take a good care of him. One day, he met with a mysterious boy named Wilbur who claimed that he came from a future with a flying time-machine. Lewis couldn't do anything but believe once he warped to the future and met the Robinsons - the cheerful family of Wilbur. Without a choice, Lewis had to stop the Bowler Hat Guy from destroying all time-space consistency and changing the future forever... Even though the plot is not original as you might have heard of the story like this before, I have to say that the story-line is excellent. With the best script, you are destined to have a fail-proof good movie. In "Meet the Robinsons," the story keeps unfolding piece by piece with an easy clue that you could guess the final plot. However, once the climax comes, you still feel excited and pleased. It's a cliche and trademark of Disney's movie with a magic inside. Funny moments and comical gags are plenty, those certainly would keep you laughing. The moral of the story is good for young viewers and adults alike - no matter how many times you fail, do not give up and just keep moving forward. We all might want to know what the future holds, but it's us who could actually make it happens. 4 Stars out of 5 - this is a good movie for family to enjoy a fine moment together. April 18 Hannibal RisingRevenge is sweet, but human flesh is sweeter!!! Hannibal is back. This time he looks younger. "Hannibal Rising" - the movie is adapted from the novel with the same name from the original author Thomas Harris who created Dr. Hannibal Lecter - one of the most prestigious serial killers in the history of literature. In this sequel (which is actually a prequel of the series), we are taking back to the origin of it all to explore the childhood of Hannibal and how young Hannibal Lecter grew up to be a fearsome criminal who practices cannibalism as we know him. The plot is interesting and reasonable. We all are treated with gruesome killing methods that would certainly trickle our spines. A french actor Gaspard Ulliel, who portrays young Hannibal Lecter, interpreted the character well enough, even though he couldn't surpass Anthony Hopkins in his Academy Awards role of Dr. Hannibal Lecter. All in all, those who love or hate Dr. Hannibal Lecter would satisfy with this film. At least, it explains something about our beloved killer. 4 stars out of 5 - recommend to those who aren't afraid of the blood and flesh splashing all over the screen. It's truly a gruesome thriller. April 17 Virginia Shooting MassacreOn the morning of Monday the 16th, 2007 in Virginia, U.S.A. there were a series of gun-fire at 2 separated locations 2 hours apart in dormitory and classroom, respectively, in Virginia Tech University, killing 32 people including students and professors. The lone gunman, later revealed an identity as Cho Seung-hui - a 23 years-old South Korean living legally in the US and the final year student studying English at the university, killed himself afterwards. This tragic incident spurred the nation with grief and anger. This would lead to a more serious measure of gun purchasing in the US. It would cause some hatred among Asian and other minority ethic groups living in the states and the process of applying for a US visa would certainly be reevaluated. Hopefully, it would not be as bad as I thought it would be. My deepest condolences go to those who lost their loved ones in this tragic incident. May they all rest in peace. April 15 Songkran in a canalToday, with my former Chulalongkorn University English Club members a.k.a. EC-gangs, I had a plan to set out on a journey to fulfill the travel destination stated on the so-called Bangkok Fest Mileage Card under the Bangkok Fest & Fun Project of Tourism Authority of Thailand. we called it a "passport" as there are numerous places of interest depicted in the card with numbers for you to collect a "stamp" once you visit the place - it's like a kind of game to collect at least 15 stamps and send the card in for the lucky-draw. The route and places of interest in the passport are recommended as an interesting and fun way to travel around a hectic city of Bangkok. According to the plan, we decided to explore the small canal on the western side of the Chao-Phraya river starting from Wat Rakangkhosittaram (literally translated as Temple of the bells.) As we followed the route guided in the "passport," we headed next to the National Museum of Royal Barges. Unfortunately, it was closed due to Songkran holiday. So, we went to the next destination - the Bangkoknoi train station where there is virtually nothing of interest except a few trains running to the western part of Thailand including Kanchanaburi where the Japanese used to transport their army during the second World War. I started to doubt the credibility of the "passport" that it is not designed to fit for the tourists as it's very difficult to follow the route. However, we had to stick to the plan and headed next to Taling-Chan Floating Market which marked the highlight of the trip today. We bought a ticket for a 2-hour boat trip in Bangkoknoi canal and beyond to the orchid garden. Unexpectedly, as it's the last day of the Songkran festival, the trip turned out to be a uniquely enjoyable Songkran experience. We are told to be prepared to get wet, soaking wet, as the people who lives beside the canal and other tourist boats like us were all having fun creating a small war of throwing and splashing water. This is totally different from Songkran on the land as you had unlimited supply of water from the canal and you couldn't run and hide anywhere. This is one of the Songkran day I would never forget as I was soaking wet with water from the canal, well at least I was told that the water was clean enough for people to use it in everyday life. We'll see if I develop any kind of skin rash afterwards. In the afternoon, after having a late lunch and chatting in the pier by the canal, we headed to Wat Suthatthepwararam (Suthat Temple) and Sao Chingcha (the Giant Swing) near Bangkok City Hall. In fact, we decided to enjoy some snacks at the popular Mon's Fresh Milk parlor. Unfortunately, it was closed on holiday. So, my journey today ended up as we walked to Sanam-Luang to collect some more stamps but almost all places of interest were closed after 5 to 6 PM. All in all, I was having a very good and unexpectedly enjoyable time in Bangkok for Songkran holiday this year. Although the "passport" thing was a little bit disappointed, it opened an opportunity for me to experience Bangkok and Songkran in the way I never imagine before. Thanks P'Art for a free 9-baht worth of this "passport." You may check out some of the pictures I took today below or at my photo album. Enjoy Bangkok! April 14 "Syndromes and a Century" and Free Thai Cinema MovementI couldn't say that I was not surprised by the news that the latest movie of Apichatpong Weerasethakul called "Sang sattawat" a.k.a. "Syndromes and a Century," scheduled to be released in limited theater in Bangkok on April 19 - almost a year after it was first premiered overseas in 2006 Venice Film Festival, was not passed the censorship board in Thailand and the director decided to pull his movie out from commercial release rather than cut off his movie. The more absurd thing was that the board of censorship refused to return the film if the troubled 4 scenes had not been removed, whether it's released or not, for fearing that the movie would destroy good images of Buddhist monks and doctors in Thailand. However, doing so has already reassured a limited and bad reputation of movie censorship in Thailand and, in a larger scale, a freedom to choose of Thai people. Earlier this month, I had a chance to watch this movie at the 9th Deauville Asian Film Festival in France where it received the highest honor as the best featured film. Along with French audiences, I didn't see any part of the movie that would destroy the reputation of Buddhism and medical personnel in Thailand. I saw only a director's personal message of humanity set around both rural and urban hospital in Thailand reflecting from the film. The four troubled scenes include a monk playing guitar, a group of monks playing kite or a kind of flying object, a doctor drinking alcoholic drink in the hospital and a male doctor having a hard-on after kissing with his girl-friend (with no obscured sex scene.) I didn't see a trouble in any of the scenes. It's merely a movie for heaven's sake. Well, I guess true trouble lies in the heart of those who think of them in a bad way, with a pessimistic point of view and pureless mind. However, there are always two sides of thing. Considered this censorship as a bad luck for limited audiences who waited to watch this movie in Thailand, the alliances of Apichatpong and Thai movie lovers found it to be a good opportunity to create an online petition which would afterwards forward to the National Legislative Assembly and the Thai Government. Here we have the Free Thai Cinema Movement aiming to amend an outdated law regarding movie censorship in Thailand and give Thai people more freedom for choosing to watch or not to watch a movie by themselves. Those who would like to contribute, please sign your name in the petition at http://www.petitiononline.com/nocut/petition.html Let's make a difference for our future generation! For more information about the movie, please visit the official site at http://www.kickthemachine.com/works/Syndromes.html April 12 El Laberinto del Fauno a.k.a. Pan's LabyrinthSet in Fascist Spain of the year 1944, the movie revolts around a young girl Ofilia who has to travel with her pregnant mother to live in a rural and restless area with her mother's new husband, a cruel captain of the Spanish army. There, Ofilia found an imaginary fairy which led her through the labyrinth to meet a fantasy creature - Pan or Faun - telling her that she is actually a princess of a forgotten kingdom. Is it real or is it a dark fairy tale crated by the girl to fight with harsh reality? Let's the movie guide you... This movie was nominated for 6 Academy Awards including Best Foreign Language Film of the Year, even though it lose the award to the German film "Das Leben der Anderen" a.k.a. "The Lives of Others" (Read my review by clicking here,) it was recognized by winning 3 awards including Best Achievement in Art Direction, Best Achievement in Cinematography and Best Achievement in Makeup. The movie is written and directed by a veteran Mexican movie-maker Guillermo del Toro. Some might think that it's just another fantasy movie with load of special effects, well, it is. However, the movie delivers more serious messages of war and humanity behind its powerful script and fantastic cinematography. The story is imaginative yet miserable as while the story progresses, the plot reveals the real devil within human's heart. It's certainly not a fantasy movie for children as there are numerous scenes of blood and violence in the film. We could actually see the real world through an imagination of Ofilia, the character which perfectly portrayed by a young Spanish actress Ivana Baquero. All in all, I love the movie. The picture is beautifully shot. The plot is clear and clever. The ending is ... well, I'd rather not to say but I think it's the best to end that way - if the real world is hard to live in, it's better to stay in your beautiful imagination forever. 5 Stars out of 5 - recommend to those who love drama and fantasy movie, the two genres could be together. A word of advice: this is not a movie for young children, don't bring them to the theater watching this film. P.S. Check out the official movie site (in English) for more information: http://www.panslabyrinth.com April 09 Me...MyselfWhen a memory is lost, a love is found. The movie tells a story of a guy who got hit by a car and lost his memory. Upon recovery, he stays with an unfortunate girl who hit him. As time goes by, they fall for each other... only to discover that the guy is a transsexual working in a cabaret show. Will their love remain the same? That's the answer we have to find... The movie is the directorial debut for the big screen of Pongpat Wachirabanjong, a well-known actor-singer becoming director of Thailand. It stars veteran actor Ananda Everingham in his most challenging role yet as a homosexual who lost his memory and fall for a girl, the new coming actress Chayanan Manomaisantiphab. This interesting plot is crafted by Kongdej Jaturanrasamee whose previous works included the award-winning script of Midnight My Love a.k.a. "Cherm." The movie is well directed with romantic drama tone. The main plot of an impossible love between a girl and a homosexual guy is interesting and the script is well-paced even though it's too cliché. It begins with some funny moments and leads to the dramatic ending. There is a notable chemistry between the two main characters. The world seems brighter when they are on the screen together. However, the editing of the movie is irritating - I felt my mood jumping back and forth as the scenes are cut at the wrong place and wrong time. The ending of the movie is open but it's pointless as the characters are fabricated with one directional reason, thus the viewers have no choice to think otherwise. If the movie dares not putting too many reasons, it might turn out to be a good artistic film that is more difficult to watch for the mass. All in all, this is a fine romantic drama that would be a good idea to watch with your loved ones. Even though you are lonely, it would make you feel love with some open discussions in the end. 4 Stars out of 5 - recommend for lovers and those who love romantic drama. It's one of the best performance by Ananda as well, watch out for his naked scene that's so funny. Check out the official website avialable in both Thai and English at http://www.memyselfmovie.com/ April 08 SunshineSet in the year 2057, the movie tells a story of a team of 7 astronauts on a mission to re-ignite the dying sun. If the mission fails, it's the end of mankind. Even though all the crews are well-trained, there is no room for failure as there is no second chance... The movie is directed by Danny Boyle who is famous for his direction in 28 Days Later and Trainspotting, with the original script from the veteran writer Alex Garland whose previous works included 28 Days Later and the Beach. The cast might not be multi-million stars but they are all well-known by their roles in many movies. All in all, this Sci-Fi thriller movie is intense and enjoyable to watch. The performance of the ensemble of the cast is good as you could feel the tension and stress from them all the time on the screen as the mission to the sun gets out of control and out of the way. The plot and story-line is interesting and well-paced except for the part that leads to the climax which somehow seemed unreasonable. However, all in all, it's another good sci-fi thriller that would keep you awake from the beginning till the end. 4 Stars out of 5 - recommend to those who love sci-fi and thriller. However, if you couldn't afford a time to come to the theater and don't mind a small screen at home, it's ok to wait for the DVD. March 27 A Trip to PhuketFriday, March 23rd, 2007
Saturday, March 24th, 2007
Sunday, March 25th, 2007
Monday, March 26th, 2007
This summarized the trip to Phuket. It's exhausting yet enjoyable week-end trip. See you again, Phuket! "Fadd" a.k.a. "Alone"After their first critically acclaimed horror feature "Shutter," here comes the second clever plot and character-driven hair-rising movie from the directorial duo Banjong Pisanthanakul and Pakpoom Wongpoom called "Alone" or "Fadd" which is a Thai word meaning twin. This time it's a story about a Siamese twin. The twin girls with conjoined abdomen decide to get separated and one died while the other survived. After some exile abroad, the survivor came home only to realized that her dead twin wouldn't let her to be alone... The hype around the movie has started since the announcement of the production. It even sold before the shooting was completed. The main character starred by one of Thailand's superstar - Masha Vadanapanich. After years of absence from the silver screen, she really makes a remarkable come back in the leading role in this film. Just watching a her intense facial expression in one of the teasers of the movie and you'll probably agree with me and once you have watched the movie, you would definitely couldn't agree more that Masha delivered a superb performance. I am certain that we would often hear her name again at the end of this year when the movie awards season begins again - not only from the nominations but also as a winner. The story-line is original, at least for the movie of this genre. Even though some might argue that they have heard a horror story featuring a twin, there has never been a horror movie that centered around Siamese twin. The plot of this movie is well written. The scriptwriters did research the facts and crafted the story perfectly. There are spooky moments here and there and in the climax of the movie is a simple yet wonderful surprise that you might think to yourself why you think that way. The cinematography in the movie is fantastic and make the atmosphere in the film even more mysterious and suspicious. In fact, everything in the movie is fine for me except a grotesque look of a ghost - yeah there is ghost in the movie appearing in different forms but they all seem unreal to me. All in all, the movie doesn't fail my expectation. The duo directors as well as other cast and crews did their marvelous jobs. I will definitely list this film as one of the best movies of the year for me. 5 stars out of 5 - recommend to those horror movie fans out there. You won't be disappointed. March 17 Charlotte's WebBased on a children's book published in 1952 with the same name, written by an acclaimed American writer E. B. White, Charlotte's Web tells a story of a remarkable cross-species friendship between a wise and gentle female barn spider named Charlotte and a small yet cheerful pig named Wilbur. It's a popular book for both children and adult alike. The movie doesn't fail to capture the heart and soul of the lives of animals in the farms which somehow reflects human society. The unlikely friendship and promises kept by Charlotte and Wilbur are touching and serves well as a good lesson for children as well as grown-ups. Even though some might feel that reading a book could give them more imagination, the film and computer graphics could make the imagination comes to life. Memorable quotes from the book are kept and present themselves well in the movie, especially those of Charlotte's. Also notable is Dakota Fanning's role as Fern "the Pig Saver" Arable, a farm girl who saved Wilbur when he was born from being killed. All in all, this is a perfect family movie adapted well from one of the greatest children's books. Even though bringing a small child to the theater is not recommended, a younger viewer who could concentrate in the theater without bothering the crown deserves to watch the film. Morals of the story and lessons of life are enough for the reasons for them to enjoy the film. 5 Stars out of 5 - recommend to all, especially family to enjoy valuable time together. |
|
|