Showing 1 - 8 of 8
Cannes 2024 highlights
Life, Kong Rithdee, Published on 14/05/2024
» From Francis Ford Coppola's new epic to a Taiwanese drama starring a Thai actor and a Pol Pot drama, we pick hot titles from the French film festival that kicks off today.
In search of big ideas
Life, Kong Rithdee, Published on 18/01/2018
» BangkokEdge Festival, billed as an "idea festival", returns to its old quarters of Bangkok this weekend. Spearheaded by MR Narisa Chakrabongse, the two-day event is a vibrant smorgasbord of literature, music, art, history and politics, anchored in the charming venues of Museum Siam, Chakrabongse Villas and Rajini School. There will be talks -- plenty of panels and discussions, on subjects ranging from "What Makes The Chao Phraya A World Monument?" to "The Power Of Slam Poetry", from "Populism, Religion and Neo-Nationalism In The 21st Century" to "Years Of Living Dangerously: A Woman's Take On War". The list of participants is starry, including writers, journalists, poets, historians and artists, Thai and international. Come evening, the lawn of Museum Siam will play host to film screenings (Pop Aye on Saturday and Citizen Dog on Sunday), as well as concerts by Hugo, Yena, Rasmee Isan Soul and more.
Method in the madness
Life, Kanin Srimaneekulroj, Published on 10/11/2017
» Whether it be Hannibal Lector, Norman Bates or even the Joker, psychopaths have long been some of the most fascinating characters in all of pop culture. As terrifying as they supposedly are, there is also a mystique to their madness, one that exists on the cusp of comprehensibility, divided only by that thin, elusive border we call sanity or morality or compassion.
When monsters attack
Life, Kanin Srimaneekulroj, Published on 10/03/2017
» Kong: Skull Island seems like it tries -- and largely fails -- to present a serious, deep message, even though it often veers into the campy territory so many monster films seem to occupy. Most of the characters -- of which there are unnecessarily many -- are completely devoid of personality or even purpose, getting introduced only to eventually become monster-snacks, offering absolutely nothing to the plot beyond creating a false sense of mortality for the obvious band of destined survivors. The plot, as anyone familiar with King Kong's lore can surmise, is also nothing new, and is actually quite similar to the Peter Jackson-directed King Kong's (2005) plot of a group of outsiders surviving on a hostile island dominated by the giant ape.
Can Myanmar cinema get a second act?
Spectrum, Published on 14/07/2013
» During its 93-year history, Myanmar's film industry has experienced more than its fair share of ups and downs. However, to say that its downward spiral began following the 1962 coup that brought the military and a socialist regime to power _ as many commentators contend _ isn't entirely accurate. Total shutdowns preceded the coup and an arguably more sinister atmosphere developed decades afterwards it.