Thursday, October 30, 2014

Bangkok Cinema Scene: Movies opening October 30-November 5, 2014

So Be It


Two very different boys – a poor hilltribe youngster and a half-Thai reality-TV star – ordain as novice Buddhist monks in So Be It (A-Wang, เอวัง), a documentary by acclaimed Thai writer-director Kongdej Jaturanrasmee.

The half-Thai, half-farang kid William was featured on the TrueVisions’ reality series Plook Panya Dharma Novice, which followed the daily lives of novice monks. After his stint on the series, he returns to the temple on his own to continue his studies into the Buddhist faith.

Meanwhile, there's Bundit, a Karen boy whose family is too poor to afford schooling. So he's sent to the Buddhist boarding school, but is uncomfortable and tries to leave.

The third indie-film effort by Kongdej, So Be It premiered at the recent Busan International Film Festival, which had supported the project through the Asian Cinema Fund. Variety gave it a good review. The Nation has more about it today.

It's at House on RCA. Rated G



Also opening



The Eyes Diary (คนเห็นผี, Kon Hen Pee) – Director Chukiat Sakveerakul is best known for his sprawling family and friendship dramas like The Love of Siam and last year's Krian Fictions, but he got his start with thrillers, such as his 2004 horror Pisaj and the twisting 2006 thriller 13 Game Sayong, which was recently remade by Hollywood as 13 Sins. With The Eyes Diary (not to be confused with the Pang brothers' Eye franchise), Chookiat gathers young talent for this story of a young man (Parama Im-anothai) whose girlfriend (Focus Jeerakul) died in a motorbike wreck after they had a fight. He’s desperate to communicate with her “on the other side” and seeks help from a young woman (Chonnikarn Natejui) who's had a similar experience. Rated 15+


The Couple (รัก ลวง หลอน, Rak Luang Lon) – A newlywed bride is possessed by the evil spirit of her sister-in-law in this thriller from the new film company Talent 1. Sucha Manaying, Pitchaya Nithipisarnkul and Mali Coates star. This is the second feature from Talent 1, which made its bow last year with the well-received thriller Last Summer. It's run by producer Ladawan Ratanadilokchai, who takes a different approach to her films. She had a hand in the script with help from Thai indie filmmaking talents Kongdej Jaturanrasmee (who also has So Be It opening at House this week), Pimpaka Towira and Sivaroj Kongsakul. Rated 15+


Whiplash – The top award winner at Sundance, this acclaimed indie drama follows a young drummer (Miles Teller) as he joins an elite music conservatory's jazz orchestra and comes under the cruel tutelage of the tyrannical conductor (J.K. Simmons), who pushes the young man to the brink in his obsessive drive for perfection. Damien Chazelle, a young filmmaker making his sophomore feature effort, directs. Also a hit at the Toronto International Film Festival, critical reception is wildly positive. In sneak previews for the past couple weeks, Whiplash finally moves to a wide release. Rated G


The Equalizer – Denzel Washington is a former black-ops agent who atones for his dark past by volunteering his services as a private eye to those in need. His latest case involves a teenage prostitute (Chloë Grace Moretz) and leads him into a conflict with Russian mobsters. This is big-screen reboot of a 1980s American TV drama that starred British actor Edward Woodward and had an iconic theme by Police drummer Stewart Copeland. Antoine Fuqua (Olympus Has Fallen) directs this new version, reuniting with his Training Day leading man. Critical reception is mixed, with eyebrows raised over the extreme level of violence. Rated 18+



Also showing


Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand – Tonight, the Czech Republic presents the documentary The Power of Good: The Nicholas Winton Story, about a British businessman who saved 669 Czech children from the Nazi death camps in World War II. The show is at 7pm. Entry is free.


The Friese-Greene Club – A disillusioned killer takes one last job in Wong Kar-wai's stylish drama Fallen Angels, screening tonight. Tomorrow's cult classic is The Rocky Horror Picture Show, but it's fully booked. So find someplace else to toss your toast. Keep an eye on the club's Facebook page for further offerings in November. Shows are at 8pm. The FGC is down an alley next to the Queen's Park Imperial Hotel on Sukhumvit Soi 22. There's just nine seats, so book them.


Alliance Française – November's line-up starts with La France, a 2007 drama that's set during World War I. Young Camille receives a break-up letter from her soldier husband. So she goes in search, disguising herself as a man and signing up for the fight. She falls in with a group of soldiers who do not suspect her real identity. Sylvie Testud, Guillaume Depardieu, Guillaume Verdier star and Serge Bozon directs. It's in French with English subtitles at 7pm on Wednesday, November 5.



Sneak preview

The romantic comedy Love, Rosie continues its sneak preview run, screening from around 8 nightly at most cinemas. It opens wider next Thursday.

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Bangkok Cinema Scene: Movies opening October 23-29, 2014

Gone Girl


One of the those buzzworthy films you wish everyone would just quit talking about already, Gone Girl is the latest acclaimed thriller from director David Fincher, and is winning raves for its performances by Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike.

Affleck is Nick Dunne, a husband who reports his wife's disappearance on their fifth wedding anniversary. Under pressure from the police and the frenzied media, his portrait of a blissful union begins to crumble.

Neil Patrick Harris, Tyler Perry and Kim Dickens also star. The story is based on an acclaimed best-selling 2012 crime novel by Gillian Flynn, who also wrote the screenplay.

Since its premiere at the New York Film Festival, critical reception is positively glowing, and it's likely nobody is going to shut up about Gone Girl until it has won a few Oscars. This opened for a sneak preview run last week and now moves to a wide release. Rated 18+



Also opening


John Wick – Keanu Reeves is earning some of the best reviews of his career for this gritty hitman thriller. He's a gunman who comes out of retirement to settle the score with the gangsters who took everything from him. Michael Nyqvist, Alfie Allen, Willem Dafoe, Adrianne Palicki, Bridget Moynahan, Dean Winters and Ian McShane also star. It's based on a first-person-shooter video game, and is the directorial by a pair of stunt specialists, David Leitch and Chad Stahelski (Reeves' stunt double on The Matrix). Since its U.S. premiere a couple weeks ago, critical reception has been crazily positive. Rated 18+


Fury – Yet another highly acclaimed, star-studded vehicle in the hunt for awards, Fury is a World War II yarn starring Brad Pitt as the aptly named Sergeant Wardaddy. It's 1945, and the Allies are making their final push into Berlin. Wardaddy commands a Sherman tank and a four-man crew on a deadly mission behind enemy lines. Shia LaBeouf, Logan Lerman, Michael Peña and Jon Bernthal also star. David Ayer (End of Watch, Training Day) directs. Critical reception is generally positive. Rated 15+


Phee Overtime (โอ.ที. ผี Overtime, a.k.a. O.T.) – A segment from Five Star Production's 2012 horror omnibus 3 A.M. is expanded upon for this thriller the follows the exploits of horrible bosses Karan (Shahkrit Yamnarm) and Ti (Ray MacDonald), whose pranks on their late-night office staff turn fatal. That forces their business partner Bordin (Ananda Everingham) to give up his peaceful life and return to work. Rated 18+


Happy New Year – Six losers plan a massive diamond heist, using a dance competition as their cover. Shahrukh Khan stars and famed choreographer Farah Khan directs, marking the third collaboration for the pair after Main Hoon Na (2004) and Om Shanti Om (2007). Deepika Padukone, Abhishek Bachchan, Sonu Sood, Boman Irani, Vivaan Shah and Jackie Shroff also star. It's at Paragon, Embassy Diplomat Screens and Major Cineplex Sukhumvit, Rama III and Pattaya. Opens Friday.



Also showing


12th World Film Festival of Bangkok – There's still plenty to see as the fest heads into its final weekend. Among the highlights is the complete version of Metropolis, the 1927 sci-fi silent epic. It screens at 7.30 tonight and 9pm on Saturday. Tomorrow, catch the festival's opener, the Thai documentary Somboon, a gentle portrait of a man's devotion to his chronically ailing wife. Also worth a look are the Shortwave Programmes, with program two at 3.20 on Friday, and program one at 3.30 on Saturday. Program one includes Behind the Screen, a moving portrait of a Burmese director's parents' broken marriage. His folks were famous actors in Myanmar back in the 1960s. The fest wraps up on Sunday with the invitation-only closing film The Tale of Princess Kaguya, a new animation from Japan's Studio Ghibli. The festival is at SF World at CentralWorld. Tickets are 120 baht. For the full schedule, check the festival website.


The Friese-Greene Club – Tonight, Wong Kar-wai loosely follows up his In the Mood for Love with another moody romance, 2046. Jeff Bridges ties everything together in tomorrow's cult classic, The Big Lebowski, the stoner bowling-and-crime comedy by the Coen brothers. Saturday's Friedkin flick is his 2006 indie comeback, the thriller Bug. And Sunday's Hitchcock highlight is one of Hitch's best, North by Northwest. Next Wednesday captures the late Richard Attenborough in one of his most rascally roles, bringing dinosaurs back to life in 1993's blockbuster Jurassic Park. Shows are at 8pm. The FGC is down an alley next to the Queen's Park Imperial Hotel on Sukhumvit Soi 22. There's just nine seats, so book them. Also, check the Facebook page for updates and program changes.


Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand – There are two films next week, Young Goethe in Love on Monday and the documentary The Power of Good: The Nicholas Winton Story, about a man who saved 669 Czech children from the Nazi death camps in World War II, at 7pm next Thursday. The screening, courtesy of the Czech Republic embassy, is free. Goethe!, screening at 7 on Monday, is part of the FCCT's Contemporary World Film Series. Directed by Philip Stolzl, the 2010 romantic drama follows the young writer after he flunks out of law school and is sent to a small town to work as a clerk. There, he falls in love with Lotte, a spirited young woman who is promised to marry someone else. The screening is courtesy of  the Goethe Institut, the German embassy and Ambassador Rolf Schulze. Entry for non-members is 150 baht plus 100 baht for anybody wanting to sample the German beer, wine and pretzels.


Alliance Française – Classic French films are on offer in October with the theme of "eternal thrillers", and the month closes out with 1974's Stavisky, starring Jean-Paul Belmondo as politically connnected financier and embezzler Serge Alexandre Stavisky. Alain Resnais directs and François Périer, Charles Boyer and Anny Duperey also star. It's in French with English subtitles at 7pm on Wednesday, October 29.



Sneak previews


Love, Rosie – Lily Collins and Sam Claflin are childhood best friends who are secretly in love with each other. The young Brits take a big chance and go the the U.S. together to attend university. Critical reception is mixed. It's in sneak previews from around 8 nightly before opening wide on November 6. Also, the Sundance winning drama Whiplash continues its sneak-preview run this week. The story of a young jazz drummer terrorized by his band director, it opens in a wide release next Thursday.

Thursday, October 16, 2014

Bangkok Cinema Scene: Movies opening October 16-22, 2014

Dracula Untold


Luke Evans stars in Dracula Untold, a historical-epic retelling of the origins of literature's most famous vampire.

Evans is Prince Vlad, a former Turkish slave whose peaceful life is disrupted when the local sultan (Dominic Cooper) wants Transylvanian boys to fill out the ranks of his army. Not wanting to lose his son, Vlad makes a deal with the Master Vampire (Charles Dance of Game of Thrones) to gain vampire-like powers for three days. However, if he gives in to the taste of blood, he'll be a vamp forever.

Sarah Gadon also stars. Gary Shore, a first-time feature helmer, directs this latest entry in Universal studio's push to reboot all its classic monster-movie franchises.

Critical reception is mostly negative. There's probably better things to see, such as anything at the World Film Festival of Bangkok. Rated 15+




Also opening



Sbek Gong – The biggest-budget movie yet made in Cambodia, Sbek Gong is an insane blend of comedy, romance and the supernatural, as well as contemporary Cambodian society and the old traditional ways. The story involves the conflict between rival disciples of a black-magic master. Sisowath Sereiwudd, Un Sethea, Nhem Sokun and Duch Lida star. Pol Vibo directs. It's Thai-dubbed only; subtitles uncertain. Rated 18+


The Best of Me – Yet another tear-jerking Nicholas Sparks romance novel is adapted for the big screen, telling the mushy story of former high-school sweethearts who are reunited after 20 years when they return to their small town for the funeral of a friend. Although romance is reignited, they find that the forces that drove them apart 20 years ago still exist. James Marsden and Michelle Monaghan star as the lovers with their younger counterparts portrayed by Luke Bracey and Liana Liberato. Michael Hoffman (Gambit, The Last Station) directs. Critical reception is mixed. Rated 15+


3 Antarai (3 อันตราย, a.k.a. TV Game Net) – Thai society's cultural ills are fingered in this compilation of three stories. They involve a schoolboy who tries to rape his girlfriend after watching a TV show, a gunman coping with his autistic son’s addiction to video games and a college student who becomes involved in the online sex trade. At 6.30 nightly until Wednesday at the Lido.


Saint Seiya: Legend of Sanctuary – In this computer-animated adaptation of the popular manga, five young armored sword-toting warriors are given the mission of protecting the reincarnation of the goddess Athena. It's SF Cinemas, Thai-dubbed, except for Terminal 21. Rated G.



Also showing


The Friese-Greene Club – Wong Kar-wai makes his English-language debut wth tonight's screening, My Blueberry Nights, starring musician Norah Jones as a young drifter woman. "I'm not even supposed to be here today." That's the plaintive uttering of the hero of Clerks, the low-budget cult film that launched the career of Kevin Smith. I assure you, it's showing at 8 tomorrow. Saturday's Friedkin film is The Birthday Party, adapted from a play by Harold Pinter. And on Sunday don't blink for the Hitchcock highlight, Rope, which is essentially just one long take. Next Wednesday's Richard Attenborough tribute is his biopic Chaplin, with a bravura performance by Robert Downey Jr. Shows are at 8pm. The FGC is down an alley next to the Queen's Park Imperial Hotel on Sukhumvit Soi 22. There's just nine seats, so book them. Also, check the Facebook page for updates and program changes.


12th World Film Festival of Bangkok – Opening tomorrow night with the Thai documentary Somboon, there are many highlights. Saturday's entries include Ice Poison, the latest drama by Myanmar director Midi Z. There's also The Blue Room from France, as well as Truffaut's classic The Last Metro, which also runs on Sunday. And there's a whole bunch of French animation, including the French-Israeli production The Congress, a sci-fi fantasy about an actress (Robin Wright) who sells off the rights to her digital image. The festival is at SF World at CentralWorld. Tickets are 120 baht. For the full schedule, check the festival website.


Alliance Française – Classic French films are on offer in October with the theme of "eternal thrillers". Next week it's L’assassin habite au 21 (The Assassin Lives at No 21), a 1942 thriller by Henri-Georges Clouzot. Pierre Fresnay stars as a police inspector who goes undercover in a boarding house in a bid to catch a serial killer. It's in French with English subtitles at 7pm on Wednesday, October 22.



Sneak previews


Gone Girl – The onslaught of autumn Oscar hopefuls continues with this thriller from David Fincher, starring Ben Affleck as a husband who comes under intense media scrutiny and suspicion when his wife disappears. Rosamund Pike, Neil Patrick Harris, Tyler Perry and Kim Dickens also star. Critical reception is great. It's screening from around 8 nightly at most multiplexes before opening wide next week. Rated 18+


Whiplash – The big winner at Sundance this year and a hit at Cannes and Toronto, this indie drama stars Miles Teller as a drummer who joins his music conservatory's jazz band, and comes under the cruel tutelage of the tyrannical band director (J.K. Simmons). Yet another film already attracting Oscar buzz, critical reception is fantastic. It's screening at 8.20pm on Saturday as part of the World Film Festival of Bangkok then begins a sneak preview run on Monday, before opening wide on November 30.



Take note

No movies at House RCA this week. They are closed until October 24 for auditions for The Voice Kids Thailand.

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Bangkok Cinema Scene special: World Film Festival of Bangkok, October 17-26


The 12th World Film Festival of Bangkok opens this Friday at SF World Cinema at CentralWorld with Somboon, a documentary by young Thai director Krisda Tipchaimeta that follows the lives of Grandpa Somboon and Granny Miad, a couple married for 45 years. With Miad suffering from acute kidney disease, Somboon stays by her side, providing constant care.

Among the highlights of the festival are entries from this year's Cannes Film Festival, including Jean Luc-Godard's latest, Goodbye to Language, an experimental 3D drama, and Mommy, by French-Canadian badboy Xavier Dolan. Both films were jury prize winners at Cannes. Also from Cannes is The Blue Room, a fresh adaptation of the Georges Simenon crime novel by Mathieu Almaric, about childhood friends reunited as adulterous lovers.

Two French classics will unspool, Godard's 1965 comedy, Pierrot le Fou and from 1980, Francois Truffaut's World War II drama The Last Metro. The fest will also screen the newly restored version of Metropolis, with footage rediscovered a few years ago.

There's a block of French animation in a festival sidebar, the French-Thai Animation Rendezvous, which offers five recent French animated features in various styles – A Cat in ParisThe Congress, the 3D Minuscule, Valley of the Lost AntsErnest and Celestine and Tales of the Night.

Another festival sidebar groups together Israel films, going back as far as 1988's Aviya's Summer up to 2013's Cupcakes. Others are The Band's VisitA Matter of SizeNoodle and Footnote.

There's the Cine Latino and Cinema Beat programs, which feature entries from across Latin America, the US, Canada and beyond. The selection includes the Sundance winner Whiplash, which will also get a general release in Thai cinemas.

Other festival sections include Doc Feast, Asian Contemporary and Short Wave.

The fest closes on October 26 with The Tale of Princess Kaguya, a new anime feature from Japan's Studio Ghibli.

Tickets cost Bt120. There are 500 special packages offering five movies for Bt500.

This year, for the first time, the World Film Festival of Bangkok will have many films with both Thai and English subtitles, which will travel to the provinces, taking a selection of movies on Blu-ray to SF cinemas in Khon Kaen from November 7 to 9, Pattaya from November 14 to 16 and Chiang Mai from November 20 to 23.

Find out more at www.WorldFilmBkk.com.

Thursday, October 9, 2014

Bangkok Cinema Scene: Movies opening October 9-14, 2014

The Babadook


A widowed mother struggles to raise her six-year-old who has constant nightmares about The Babadook, a creature coming to kill them both. When a disturbing storybook mysteriously turns up, the boy is convinced that the book's main character is the killer creature. Eventually, the mother begins to see glimpses of a sinister presence all around her. Essie Davis, Daniel Henshall and Tiffany Lyndall-Knight star.

Actress Jennifer Kent (Babe: Pig in the City) makes her directorial debut with this indie Australian horror.

Winner of prizes at several genre film fests,  critical reception is crazily positive, with the consensus being it's "real horror rather than cheap jump scares – and boasts a heartfelt, genuinely moving story to boot." Rated 15+



Also opening



Autómata – It's I, Robot with a Spanish accent in this sci-fi thriller produced by and starring Antonio Banderas as an insurance investigator for a robotics company. It's a time when Earth's ecosystem has collapsed and humans are totally dependent on robots. Similar to Asimov's I, Robot, the 'bots are governed by two rules – they shalt not harm a human nor shall they modify themselves or other robots. Evidence emerges that they are breaking those protocols. So Banderas' Jacq Vaucan is on the case, and what he discovers has profound consequences for the future of humanity. Brigitte Sorensen, Dylan McDermott, Robert Foster and Tim McInnerny also star along with Banderas' ex-wife Melanie Griffith as a tinkerer who makes sex robots that look and sound like her. Spanish visual-effects specialist Gabe Ibáñez directs and is a co-writer of the script. Autómata screened in competition at the San Sebastian Film Festival. Critical reception is mixed. Rated 13+


Wai Peng Nakleng Kha San (วัยเป้งง นักเลงขาสั้น, Dangerous Boys) – Director Poj Arnon, always looking for a buzzworthy topic to hang a movie on, uses Bangkok's often bloody street wars between gangs of trade-school students as a backdrop for this coming-of-age drama about "frenemies" Peng and Ting, who fight whenever they meet. Rated 15+


The Prince – A retired assassin (Jason Patric) is drawn back into his old life when his daughter is kidnapped by a gangster named The Pharmacy (Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson). To rescue her, he must confront an old rival (Bruce Willis). John Cusack, looking particularly weary, also stars. Brian A. Miller (The Outsider) directs. Critical reception is very poor. Rated 18+


Roaring Currents – Choi Min-sik (Oldboy) portrays wily Korean Admiral Yi Sun-shin, who with only 12 ships in his fleet, defeated more then 300 Japanese vessels in 1597’s Battle of Myeongryang. I can only assume the Japanese admiral's name was Ackbar. It's Thai-dubbed in most places except for SF cinemas at CentralWorld and Terminal 21. Rated 15+


Haider – Shakespeare's Hamlet is adapted for this drama about a poet returning home to Kashmir following the death of his father. As he confronts his uncle, he finds himself dragged into the politics of the restive region. Shahid Kapoor stars along with Tabu, Shraddha Kapoor, Kay Kay Menon and Irrfan Khan. This is the third Shakespeare adaptation by director Vishal Bhardwaj, who did Macbeth with 2003's Maqbool and Othello with 2006's Omkara. Controversial because of the contentious Kashmir setting, critical reception has been generally positive. It's in Hindi with English and Thai subtitles at Major Cineplex Sukhumvit and Rama III. Opens Friday.



Also showing



The Friese-Greene Club – Tonight, Maggie Cheung has a snug-fitting silk dress to match every scene. It's In the Mood for Love, Wong Kar-wai's exquisitely haunting tale of unrequited romance in 1960s Hong Kong. Tony Leung also stars. Tomorrow's cult classic is the dark comedy about a nasty group of high-school girls, Heathers, starring Winona Ryder. On Saturday, walk the beat with tenacious New York cop Popeye Doyle and his partner Cloudy as they try to bust a train-hopping drug smuggler in The French Connection. One of the best movies ever made, it's part of a monthlong look at the tense world of director William Friedkin. Sunday is another classic Hitchcock, with James Stewart peeping at Raymond Burr in Rear Window. And next Wednesday's tribute to Sir Richard Attenborough is his Oscar-winning biopic Gandhi, starring Sir Ben Kingsley. Shows are at 8pm. The FGC is down an alley next to the Queen's Park Imperial Hotel on Sukhumvit Soi 22. There's just nine seats, so book them. Also, check the Facebook page for updates and program changes.


Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand – Filipino cinema comes into focus on Monday in the FCCT's Contemporary World Film Series with Ekstra (The Bit Player). Vilma Santos, the reigning marquee queen of Pinoy cinema in the 1960s, stars as a background actress who has spent her career toiling away on soap operas, dreaming of her big break. It won several awards at last year's Cinemalaya Film Festival, including the Audience Choice and best acress for Santos. The screening is courtesy of the Embassy of the Philippines, with Ambassador Jocelyn Batoon-Garcia on hand to offer snacks and drinks from her country. The show is at 7pm on Monday, October 13 at the FCCT. Admission for non-members is 150 baht plus 100 baht for the eats and San Miguel suds.


Alliance Française – Classic French films are on offer in October with the theme of "eternal thrillers". Next week's offering is 1965's Pierrot le fou by French New Wave stalwart Jean-Luc Godard. Jean-Paul Belmondo stars as a bored Paris man whose life turns exciting when he travels to the Mediterranean with a young woman (Anna Karina) and the pair end up being chased by Algerian hitmen. It's in French with English subtitles at 7pm on Wednesday, October 15. And if you miss it next week, it'll be shown as part of the big French line-up at the World Film Festival of Bangkok, running October 17 to 26 at SF World at CentralWorld.

Thursday, October 2, 2014

Bangkok Cinema Scene: Movies opening October 2-8, 2014

The Homesman


Tommy Lee Jones saddles up again for an American old west tale, The Homesman, starring and directing this story of a gruff drifter who is recruited by a pioneer woman (Hilary Swank) to help her escort three mentally unstable women from Nebraska back east to Iowa.

Grace Gummer, Miranda Otto and Sonja Richter also star along with Meryl Streep.

A follow-up to Jones' previous theatrical directorial effort, 2005's The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, The Homesman premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. Critical reception is generally positive. Rated 15+



Also opening


Planes: Fire and Rescue – With his gearbox damaged from revving too hard, Dusty the world-famous racing airplane decides to learn a new skill, and joins the fire-and-rescue team. The second sequel in this Cars spin-off series from DisneyToon Animation, Fire and Rescue introduces a host of new characters, including tough helicopter Blade Ranger voiced by Ed Harris. Dane Cook returns as Dusty. Other voices include Julie Bowen, Curtis Armstrong, Stacy Keach, Hal Holbrook, Wes Studi and Regina King. In 3D in some cinemas. Rated G


Annabelle – A dad-to-be thinks a creepy vintage doll would be the perfect gift for his unborn daughter. Soon after, their home is invaded by members of a satanic cult and the doll is possessed by an evil demon. A spin-off and prequel of The Conjuring, it's directed by longtime cinematographer John R. Leonetti and is produced by James Wan, director of The Conjuring and Insidious. Critical reception is unknown. Rated 15+


Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno – The second live-action adaptation of the manga has wandering former assassin Kenshin Himura (Takeru Sato) going up against former counterpart Makoto Shishio (Tatsuya Fujiwara), who is attempting to overthrow the Meiji government. Thai-dubbed only. Rated 15+


Naked Ambition 3D – A literature graduate who writes erotic stories for a newspaper’s soft-porn section loses his job and transitions into producing of pornographic films. He is then forced into acting in one and becomes famous in Japan. This is a loose sequel/reboot of a 2003 Hong Kong sex comedy. Chapman To and Josie Ho star. Thai-dubbed only. Rated 18+


Bang Bang! – Hrithik Roshan and Katrina Kaif star in this official remake of the Tom Cruise-Cameron Diaz action romp Knight and Day. He's a globetrotting superspy who happens upon a gorgeous woman and brings her along on his various adventures. It's in Hindi with English and Thai subtitles at Paragon, Embassy Diplomat Screens and Major Cineplex Sukhumvit, Rama III and Pattaya.



Also showing



The Friese-Greene Club – The films of Wong Kar-wai are in focus every Thursday this month, starting with 1996's Chungking Express. Cult films are on Fridays, opening with an animated, psychedelic blast of the Beatles and Yellow Submarine. Saturdays are all about William Friedkin, starting with his tense truck-driving epic Sorcerer, a remake of Le salaire de la peur, which showing next week at the Alliance Française"Hitchcock highlights" are featured on Sunday, beginning with Vertigo. And Wednesdays are devoted to the late Richard Attenborough. Next Wednesday's entry is the war drama The Sand Pebbles, starring Steve McQueen. Shows are at 8pm. The FGC is down an alley next to the Queen's Park Imperial Hotel on Sukhumvit Soi 22. There's just nine seats, so book them. Also, check the Facebook page for updates and program changes.


Alliance Française – Classic French films are on offer in October with the theme of "eternal thrillers". Next week's offering is 1953's Le salaire de la peur (The Wages of Fear), in which desperate men are given the job of driving an unstable load of dynamite though the South American jungle. Henri-Georges Clouzot directs and Yves Montand and Charles Vanel star. It was remade as Sorcerer by William Friedkin, which is showing at the Friese-Greene Club on Friday. It's in French with English subtitles at 7pm on Wednesday, October 8.