Thursday, November 25, 2010

Bangkok Cinema Scene: Movies opening November 25-December 1, 2010

Let Me In


The boy from The Road, Kodi Smit-McPhee meets "Hit Girl" from Kick-Ass, Chloe Moretz, in Let Me In, a Hollywood remake of the acclaimed 2008 Swedish coming-of-age vampire thriller Let the Right One In

Shifting the story from snowy Sweden to New Mexico in the American southwest, Smit-McPhee is a lonely and bullied 12-year-old boy. He befriends his new neighbor (Moretz), a girl who appears to be about 12 but is in fact a lot older.

Richard Jenkins also stars, along with Elias Koteas.

Matt Reeves, who helmed the alien-invasion thriller Cloverfield, directs.

Critical reception is generally favorable, with the consensus being "similar to the original in all the right ways, but with enough changes to stand on its own." Rated 18+.



Unstoppable


After their collaboration on the subway thriller The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, director Tony Scott and star Denzel Washington are back on track in Unstoppable, a fact-based action thriller in which an unmanned runaway freight train hauling hazardous cargo is barreling toward a city.

Washington, playing a veteran locomotive engineer, and a rookie conductor (Chris Pine, the young James T. Kirk from Star Trek), team up to try and stop that train.

The movie is based on the Crazy Eights incident of 2001, when CSX train 8888 ran unmanned with hazardous cargo at high speed through the state of Ohio before it was brought to a stop by a locomotive that caught up with it and coupled to the rear.

Critical reception is generally favorable, with Unstoppable praised "as fast, loud and relentless ... perfect popcorn entertainment – and director Tony Scott's best movie in years." Rated G.



Also opening


My Soul to TakeNightmare on Elm Street creator Wes Craven writes and directs this slasher thriller about seven teenagers who share the same birthday as the day a serial killer in their small town supposedly died. As they all near their 16th birthday, the remembers of the "Riverton Seven" find themselves stalked one by one, by the killer known as the Riverton Ripper. Critical reception is generally negative. In 3D. Rated 13+.


Guzaarish – Hrithik Roshan is a magician who is injured while performing a trick and becomes a quadriplegic. He ignites a controversy when he petitions a court to end his own life. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan also stars as his nurse. Critical reception is generally positive. It's showing at Major Cinplex Sukhumvit (Ekamai) on Friday and Sunday at 7.30 and at Major Cineplex Rama III on Saturday at 8 and Sunday at 4. Call BollywoodThai at (089) 488 2620.



Also showing


A Design Film Festival – Part of the Bangkok International Design Festival, this first edition of A Design Film Festival is running at SF World Cinema at CentralWorld until Sunday. The traveling film event was launched this year in Singapore and has also popped up in Berlin. The line-up has Milton Glaser, a profile of the graphic artist who designed the iconic I Love NY logo; Rem Koolhaus: A Kind of Architect, about the Dutch architect and architectural theorist; Beautiful Loser, about a coming together of do-it-yourself subcultures in New York City; Herb & Dorothy, about Herbert and Dorothy Vogel, a couple that despite their modest means, have built up one of the world's most significant contemporary art collections; Visual Acoustics, about architectural photographer Julius Shulman; Craftwork, about a group of "creatives" who aim to keep a hands-on approach to their visual works; Extended Play, an eclectic selection of shorts; and J-Star, a sneak peek at new visual trends out of Japan. For the schedule, click to expand the e-card above and download or hit the festival website.


Science Film Festival – The sixth Science Film Festival, organized by the Goethe-Institut Thailand, the French Embassy and the Institute for the Promotion of Teaching Science and Technology, runs until November 30 in venues throughout Thailand. In Bangkok, the screenings are at the Esplanade Cineplex Rattanathibhet, National Science Centre for Education at Ekamai, National Science and Technology Development Agency, Thai Film Archive in Salaya, Nakhon Pathom, National Science Museum, the NSM Science Square at Chamchuri Square and TK Park at CentralWorld.

Take note that the French documentary Elle s’appelle Sabine (Her Name is Sabine), will have an encore screening on Saturday, November 27, at 2 in the Media Library at the Alliance Française Bangkok. Admission is free.



Sneak preview


The Social Network – David Fincher (Fight Club, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) directs this drama that's based on the founder of Facebook. Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing) wrote the screenplay, which is adapted froma book by Ben Mezrich. Jesse Eisenberg stars as Mark Zuckerberg, who founded the social-networking website while he was at Harvard. Justin Timberlake plays Napster founder Sean Parker, the dotcom entrepreneur who guided Facebook in its days as a booming startup. Critical reception is mostly favorable. "Impeccably scripted, beautifully directed and filled with fine performances [it's] a riveting, ambitious example of modern filmmaking at its finest," is the consensus. Sounds like an Oscar possibility. The Social Network is in nightly sneak previews through Sunday before going to a wider release next Thursday. Rated 13+.

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