Showing 371 - 375 of 375
Rock-Solid Hollywood star
Life, Kong Rithdee, Published on 25/01/2012
» Last year in the hyperkinetic film Fast Five, Dwayne Johnson growled and grumbled playing the role of a federal agent chasing a pack of auto-bandits in Rio de Janeiro. Johnson, also known as The Rock, is a prime cut of beef that glitters in the Brazilian sun; yet the man holds his character with gravity, zipping through the breakneck action with all scowl and no smile.
Deserving of top honours
News, Kong Rithdee, Published on 21/01/2012
» On screen and in headlines, Iran the provocateur du jour, is causing a stir. As Israel fumes, as Bibi Netanyahu ponders a pre-emptive strike, as the US watches with hawk-eyed severity over Teheran's nuclear ambition, and as an alleged Iran-backed Hezbollah rabble-rouser was arrested in Bangkok and a spectacular arsenal of bomb materials uncovered - as the quivers in Hormuz Strait are felt throughout Earth, an Iranian film cruised past contenders to win the Golden Globe. Worldwide punters now believe A Separation will become the first Iranian title to win the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. Never mind the sanctions, an Iran-scripted drama has had Hollywood (and Washington) in thrall. So catch it now: A Separation is showing on one screen in Bangkok, at House RCA (I hope it'll stay there for a few more weeks.) It won't give you a crash course on the latest nuclear grumble; the politics of the film is smaller in scope yet larger in humanity, for it concerns class, marriage, religiosity, and the heart-aching struggle to uphold justice in the court of God and by the rule of law. At the centre, the film is about a separation of a couple, called Nader and Simin, but at heart this is a complex drama of moral quandaries that inflict bourgeoise Teheranians and speak of other kinds of seperation, physical and spiritual, visible and clandestine, in a society heaving with pride, prejudice and doubt. In short, it's closer to home than the belligerent rhetoric of the nuclear war.
In the mood for Marilyn
Life, Kong Rithdee, Published on 13/01/2012
» Marilyn Monroe was a real woman, but through the decades she has also existed as an image _ and an imagination. The later generation, appreciating Monroe in iconic, sex pot poses and perky screen persona, associates a wide gamut of ideas, fantasies and conjectures with her and her era, the '50s. A powerful presence on the screen (her movies lose meaning when she's not in the frame), she's also a blank page on which you supply your own surmises and assumptions, theories and conclusions. It says a lot when, in probably her most famous movie from 1955, The Seven Year Itch, Monroe plays a character with no name: it's enough to know her as The Girl.
Be young and shut up
News, Kong Rithdee, Published on 07/01/2012
» A week before Children's Day, we have reason to cherish a bright future for our nation's youth.
Three's A Treat
Life, Kong Rithdee, Published on 04/01/2012
» We open the year with an unusual occurrence in the cinema-going sphere: This month there will be three film festivals slated to satisfy the thirst and curiosity of local audiences. Two of them are taking place in the cultural stronghold of Bangkok, while the other has come up with the strange choice of Hua Hin. Two of them will feature alternative cinema of vastly diverse temperaments, while the other sticks mostly with munchy fares from across Asia. All of them, luckily, are privately funded.