Blog Archives

The Eye 2 (2004)

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Posted on March 11, 2007 by Alison

Another entrant in the done-to-death ‘I see ghosts’ sub-genre of Asian horror, and it faces some tough obstacles. We’ve already been bombarded by so many films of this kind that, by now, the appearance of a pallid presence evokes nothing more than a yawn. Oh, yeah, another dead person. Where’s the fun in that?

And there have been some fine films in this genre, such as the original The Eye, the tense Thai film Shutter, and the lavishly … (read more)

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The Eye (2002)

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Posted on March 11, 2007 by Ching Yee

Two words. Angelica Lee. She carried this film. I hear Hsu Chi is in the sequel but the only thing you can be sure of is her hair will look great in it. Anyways I’m digressing. So what is the film like? Well, very creepy indeed — in the goosebumps-raising, arm-chair gripping, eyes-rivetted and teeth-grinding way. And the ocassional jump [if you’re a wuss like me]. In short, it’s good.

Mun [Angelica Lee] has been blind since young and after … (read more)

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Ab-Normal Beauty (2004)

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Posted on March 5, 2007 by Jason

Oxide Pang’s Ab-Normal Beauty, the companion film to brother Danny Pang’s Leave Me Alone, holds onto the Pang stylistic norms that have made them famous: painterly composition, cool colour design, and a penchant for unnecessary editing. However, Ab-Normal Beauty isn’t without some major drawbacks.

There are two things that let this film down. Firstly, Hong Kong pop duo 2R are simply not good actors, especially when trying to deliver some heart-felt lines. The tension between the film’s main … (read more)

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Last Life in the Universe (2003)

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Posted on March 4, 2007 by Alison

Last Life In The Universe has so many things going for it. For starters, it’s directed by Pen-ek Ratanaruang, who made the glorious Monrak Transistor. Although this film had a very different feel, simplicity in place of energy, it’s still made by a talented director who’s capable of making it work well.

Then there’s the cinematographer: it’s hard to find better than Chris Doyle. I imagine that people must be queueing up to use the services of this rather … (read more)

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Beautiful Boxer (2003)

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Posted on March 3, 2007 by Jason

Following the trends of recent Thai cinema comes another lady-boy flick — Beautiful Boxer. Like other transgender films of recent times, Beautiful Boxer uses a plot that’s constructed around a true story: in this case, the subject is the ultra-famous champion Muay-Thai boxer Nong Toom, who fought professionally to raise money for a sex change operation.

The first 10 minutes of the film opens with a foreign journalist lost and in trouble with some local thugs. Luckily, Nong Toom … (read more)

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Bangkok Dangerous (1999)

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Posted on March 3, 2007 by James

Judging from reviews at hand and feet, Bangkok Dangerous is a technically proficient exercise in style (ya know, in general like) that fails to involve audiences emotionally.

Fiddlesticks.

Elevation of emotional affect over formal effect has to be expected, I guess, but in this instance I think it makes for unwarranted criticism. Bangkok Dangerous heavily borrows plot and theme from its generic predecessors (Hong Kong gangster/hitman films), but the Pang’s are not interested in simply re-staging situations. They succeed in … (read more)

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Bang Rajan (2000)

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Posted on March 18, 2006 by Ben Jennings

Bang Rajan is a terrifically entertaining, nice and gory old-timey battle epic, the sheer earnestly reverent seriousness of which almost, almost manages to overcome the innate silliness of its execution. I like this movie a lot, I’m just more excited by the idea of what, with its irresistibly populist story and giddy self-indulgence, it could have been.

My first problem is with its conflicted aesthetics. The movie’s wonderful verdant setting, finely (if anachronistically) chiselled warrior heroes and lovely maidens are … (read more)

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Iron Ladies (2001)

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Posted on January 25, 2006 by Ching Yee

Bah to those silly boys who quit the team, they must be kicking themselves now. In 1996, the Iron Ladies made Thai history by becoming national volleyball champions. Nothing out of the ordinary, really, other than the fact that all bar one of the team members is a heterosexual male. That’s the novelty, but the more serious issue and the heart of the story lies in the adversities and prejudices they had to face to get there.

The Iron Ladies … (read more)

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