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Nicholas Cage was in Soi Cowboy (the very naughty, very seedy and very notorious soi between Sukhumvit 21 and 23) filming the remake of "Bangkok Dangerous", originally directed by brothers Oxide and Danny Pang~~!!!(And actually won the prestigious 2000 Toronto International Film Festival's International Critics' Fipresci Award)~!!
The story focuses on the life (and job) of a hired killer in the underbelly of Bangkok. Expect lotsa brooding, action, and explosions~~!!!!
Check out the trailer, yo~~~~~~!!!!
P.S. Just my opinion, but I think the main character (a deaf/mute professional killer) in the ORIGINAL film was much much more mysterious, beautiful and COOLER than Nicholas Cage (who actually SPEAKS in this new version of "Bangkok Dangerous" - go figure~!!)
Anyone knows the name of this dara (star)~?? I met him in Thonglo (Sukhumvit 55) and even asked for his autograph and pic, but I "conveniently forgot" to ask for his name~~!!! KYAAAAAA~~!!
All I remember was I saw his film before on TV (I forgot whether it was HBO or Cinemax or whatever)... I was flipping channels and came across some Thai movie about giant killer crocodiles terrorizing the population on some Thai beach paradise... The weird thing was... Everybody in the film spoke English~!! Even the locals... and the police officers~!!
This dara played the bad guy... some greedy real estate guy who also got torn apart by one of the vicious crocs...
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SSS to dara: You played in some crocodile movie, right~?? Dara: Oh, that movie was HORRIBLE~~!!!!
Dara's friend: Which movie was this~??
SSS: A Thai movie about giant killer crocodiles... They escaped from some zoo and ate a lot of humans...
Dara (quickly changing the subject): So, which school did you go to here in Bangkok~??
SSS: RIS.
Dara's friend: I went to ISB.
SSS: Gasp~!! You guys are the enemy~!!
Dara's friend: Hahahahaaaa...
SSS: We used to be so jealous of you guys... Coz you guys didn't have to wear uniform...
Dara's friend: Hahahahaaaa...
Dara (giving SSS the autograph on paper): Thank you for watching my horrible movie (*snicker*)
SSS: Oh, it was actually great entertainment~!!
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It's been over a week now... and I'm STILL racking my brain for dear dara's name~~~!!!! And I can't even GUESS by looking at the signature~~!!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRGGHHH~~~~!!!
HELP, please~~??
sign at a Croc Farm says: "Those who throw objects at the crocs will be asked to retrieve them."
The next time you grumble that your family sucks like hell, be very grateful that you're not a member of Jan Dara's family~!!
The tragic character Jan Dara was born into a wealthy family in turbulent 1930s Siam. His mother died giving birth to him, thus earning him the poisonous scorn of his father, Khun Luang. Khun Luang made sure that Jan had a miserable time growing up and never failed to remind the boy that he was responsible for his mother’s demise.
Later on, one of Jan’s aunts, Waad came into the household and formed a close relationship with him (SO close that it was uncomfortable to watch). Khun Luang, who was a womanizer, unfortunately raped her and she gave birth to a daughter (Jan’s half-sister) named Kaew.
Kaew was terribly spoiled by Khun Luang and she was taught to hate Jan from a very early age. Unsurprisingly, Kaew grew up to be a very spiteful girl.
In the meantime, the licentious Khun Luang was bedding every female he could get his hands on (not exactly a hard thing to do for a wealthy man inside a household full of young and willing females).
His favorite "hobby" was to have sex in front of a portrait of his dead wife.
The young Jan himself lost his virginity to a servant girl (“offered” to him by one of the male servants) and embarked on a self-destructive path fueled by lust, hatred and guilt.
Enter sexy and sultry Khun Boonlueang (played by Hong Kong actress Christy Chung who got tanned and fattened up to gain more curves for the role~!!), the newest mistress of Khun Luang.
Jan was immediately attracted to her, and she was more than willing to give him a very special kind of “education” – watch out for a scene with ice cubes~!! *ROWL~!!*
Trouble arose when one of the household’s male servants was accused of raping Daddy’s favorite girl, Kaew (it was later revealed that Kaew herself was the one who asked to be tied up and abused). Unfortunately, Khun Luang framed Jan for this “crime” and kicked him out of the household.
Jan was able to live a “peaceful and normal” life away from his scandalous family for a while… until he was called back again. Kaew was found out to be pregnant, and Khun Luang wanted Jan to quickly marry her to preserve the family honor. Sensing an opportunity, Jan agreed, but only if the deeds of the family estate would be handed down to him.
Unluckily, Jan soon found out why his father was desperate for Kaew to get married. It turned out that the baby (who was born with Down’s syndrome) was the product of an incestuous relationship between Kaew and Khun Luang (pictured left).
After the less-than-happy birth, Kaew entered into a lesbian partnership with va-va-voom Khun Boonlueang (Khun Luang became impotent and diseased later on), which angered Jan. He repeatedly raped her until she became pregnant, which she aborted with the help of her new lesbian lover.
Tried as he might, Jan Dara slowly came to the realization that he was no better than his own hated father. Jan Dara himself became impotent at the age of forty, which saddened him even more, considering that Khun Luang was fifty when he was no longer able to “perform”.
(Is your head spinning yet~?!)
If you think the movie “Jan Dara” is so scandalous for prim n’ proper Thai society, imagine the shockwaves that were created when the original book was printed in 1966~!! The author, Utsana Phleungtham, meant it to be a social commentary, though it didn’t help to dissuade critics labeling the book as an affront to morality.
This movie was beautifully directed by Nonzee Nimibutr of “Nang Nak”fame (read more about Nang Nak, Thailand’s most famous ghost ). Every shot was bathed in a golden, sepia tone and a dreamy mood served as a foil to the story’s more sordid happenings.
I had to give kudos to Christy Chung, easily the best-acting actor in the whole movie. Besides getting tanned and putting on more weight, she even took Thai language classes for the role~!!
I’d seen “Jan Dara” in the theater when it first came out a few years ago, but my head still hurt after I watched the DVD.
A word of warning: To those of you who think (or hope) that all the nudity and sex scenes in the movie would serve as cheap thrills, you'll be sorely disappointed. Instead, they were quite disturbing and not pleasurable at all~!!
As requested, I'm linking to Akarawin's page showing the parody of the (hyper-masculine, dripping with testosterone - but smooth-chested) movie "300"~!!
Is it just me or is "Pid Term Yai Huajai Wawoon" (Hormones) uncannily similar to "Rak Haeng Siam" (Love of Siam)~??
They both deal with contemporary young love, they both use fresh cute faces and even their posters look like they're relatives. The only difference is that "Pid Term" is purely heterosexual HYUK HYUK~!!- oh, and the party's bigger and rowdier this time around.
(Rant: WHO THE HECK thought of the Thai title~?! I swear, it's such a mouthful~!! And nearly impossible to translate to English - thus the "Hormones" English title.
My best go at the title is something like - "Summer Vacation of Restless Hearts"... or something like that) *throws in the towel*
Eniweeeei... the plot revolves around four (and a half - explanation below) couples' trials and tribulations during one summer vacation:
1).Hern (Chantavit Sunasewee) and Nuan (Thaniya Amaritachote) have been together for three years in college.
During the summer vacation, they're separated because Nuan has a radio internship in Trang, leaving Hern in Bangkok. On the way to be reunited with Nuan for their anniversary, Hern meets a sexy n' naughty Japanese girl (played by ex-porn star Aoi Sorava-va-voom~!!) on the train and he gets MAJORLY distracted.
Now, if you were someone like Hern (who happens to go berserk over Japanese porn), would you agree to tag along to Ko Phangan for the Full Moon Festival if the object of your lust coyly asks you to?
Quick - would you stay resolute and continue on your journey to Trang... or would you take a secret detour to Ko Phangan for some illicit (but delicious) action~??
2).O-Lek (Focus Jeerakul) is madly, hopelessly and desperately infatuated with Taiwanese heartthrob Lu Ting Wei (nicknamed Titee) from the popular romantic tear-jerker movie "Remember... I Love You".
Her devotion knows no bounds and she even enrolls in a Chinese language school so she can "connect" with her beloved Titee in his upcoming Bangkok concert.
Unfortunately, the concert gets cancelled, thus breaking O-Lek's dream to pieces.
3). Nerdy four-eyed Jo (Ratchu Surajaras), a hopeless romantic, is in love with one of his friends, the popular Cee (Chutima Thipanat), who is worshipped by all his friends.
Unfortunately, Cee is not the least bit interested in returning skinny Jo's heartfelt and tender feelings.
Unfazed, Jo tries to woo her by re-enacting romantic gestures from mushy movies (which he has categorized and alphabetized in his collection - I kid you not). Will his persistence pay off?
4). Mai(Michael Sirachuch Chienthaworn) and Puu (Charlie Trairat) are Chiang Mai boys who are both best friends and fierce competitors.
Their rivalry takes a more serious turn when they both have the hots for the same girl, Nana (Angsumalin Siraphatsakmetha), who has miraculously lost weight AND her former hilarious nickname of "Hippo" (* vroom - imagination goes into overdrive *).
They decide to compete for her phone number. Unfortunately for them, the devious Nana knows about their silly pact and decides to play them both (what a naughty girl she is~!!).
I'm giving "Pid Term" one less star than "Rak Haeng Siam" because at times, the acting (especially of Mai, Puu and Nana) seems forced - I actually cringed at many of their cheesy pick-up lines.
Ironically, I enjoyed O-Lek's hyper acting the best, though she played the silliest character. Perhaps this has to do with the fact that the actress has had acting practice previously with the movie "Faen Chan" (which I adore)?
Overall, the whole movie doesn't disappoint.
Others who had felt somehow "misled" by "Love of Siam" (read my review ) might do well watching "Hormones" (* giggle *).
I just wish it weren't such a "LOS" clone. P.S. Watch the trailer HERE~!!
Nang Nak is perhaps the most famous Thai ghost EVER. Her immortal, blood-soaked story has kept countless Thai children awake at night (and behaving well – if not, their mothers threatened Nang Nak’s ghost would come and eat their brains aliiiive~!!).
While historical proof is hard to come by, the Thais still believe in Nang Nak, even until today. In fact, she has her own shrine in Sukhumvit (pics of the shrine are below this long-winded explanation) and is worshipped as a protector of military conscripts and bringer of good luck (especially winning lottery numbers).
The legendary tragic story of Nang Nak has been retold many times in the Thai media (TV dramas, DVDs, comic books, you name it~!!), most famously in the 1999 movie titled “Nang Nak” directed by Nonzee Nimibutr (pictured left).
The story is always quite similar: sometime between the 18th and 19th century Siam (today's Thailand), a beautiful young woman named Nak married a young man named Mak. They lived peacefully next to the Phra Kanong klong (canal).
Unfortunately, trouble was coming to interrupt their blissful married life: Mak had to leave the pregnant Nak to fight in the war (some claimed it was against the Burmese).
Worse, Mak was injured in battle, and this delayed his return. Unfortunately for the forlorn Nak, she died during childbirth (her baby was stillborn)… thus husband and wife were never reunited in this life.
Nevertheless, Nak’s love was so strong that her spirit refused to leave this world. When her husband finally returned from the war, her ghost (as well as the ghost of her unborn child) bewitched him, making him believe that everything was normal.
The neighbors started to notice that Mak was behaving very strangely: talking to nobody, eating the air (he thought he was eating Nang Nak's cooking), acting as if he was carrying a child, etc… Then the community realized, to their horror, that there was a very persistent ghost among them~!!
Things started to get REALLY nasty when the villagers tried to alert Mak and convince him that both his wife and child were actually dead. This provoked the fearful wrath of Nang Nak herself, who basically killed ANYONE who stood in her way (I wouldn’t go into specifics, but let’s just say that Nang Nak didn’t tend to play nice… oh and she preferred agonizing, blood-curdling tactics as her killing methods~!!).
The desperate villagers tried various ways to force Nang Nak to leave this world, but to no avail. They hired shamans, voodoo masters, witch doctors, WHATEVER you call ‘em… None was successful. Worse, Nang Nak was becoming more and more PISSED OFF and VIOLENT~!! Her incredible power came from, some said, the belief that she had the power of TWO beings (herself and her unborn child), so “typical” exorcism methods were utterly useless against her.
One day, the ghost of Nang Nak was busy preparing food when she dropped a lime (some said it was a knife) to the ground. Now, since traditional Thai houses are built on stilts (pictured right, taken from the Jim Thompson website), it would be very inconvenient for anyone to actually leave the kitchen, go down the stairs, pick up the dropped object, walk back up the stairs and re-enter the kitchen.
But for Nang Nak, this was not a problem. Since she was a supernatural being, she simply stretched her arm a few meters to the ground and picked up the lime (or knife) that she dropped. Unfortunately for her, Mak happened to see it by accident. He got (understandably) scared out of his wits and fled to a nearby temple, with Nang Nak in hot pursuit.
Now, Thais believe that temples are sacred grounds, therefore ghosts weren’t allowed inside. But because Nang Nak was no ordinary ghost, she was able to enter the temple and terrorize even the monks themselves~!!!!! (In the 1999 “Nang Nak” movie, there was a particularly hair-raising scene when Nang Nak crawled on the temple ceiling, much to the horror of the monks cuddled in total fear below her~!!)
Things looked REALLY dire… until a powerful monk came (some said from Thonburi) and succeeded in placating Nang Nak’s rage. He managed to make her realize that she was causing more harm than good being a destructive, possessive, murderous ghost and convinced her to leave her husband be (and this world). Nang Nak bid a tearful farewell to her beloved Mak and agreed to be “exorcised” by the monk.
I know two versions of the final exorcism: one version said Nang Nak's spirit was put into a ceramic jar, which was then dropped into a river.
Another (flashier) version said the monk cut the center of her forehead and made it into a belt buckle which he wore until his death. The belt then supposedly came into the possession of His Royal Highness Prince Chumbhorn Ketudomsak, passed down for generations and is now lost....
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Well, buckle or no buckle, this fascination and devotion to Nang Nak survives until today.
Tucked inside Sukhumvit 77 (Onnut), is a small (but famous~!!) shrine dedicated to Nang Nak (also called Mae Nak) and her unborn child.
The shrine is deep inside the Wat (temple) Maha But grounds, right next to the Phra Kanong klong (canal).
People flock to this shrine mainly for two reasons:
1). Men come here to ask Nang Nak to spare them from being conscripted into the military (in Thailand, all Thai males must serve in the military for 2 years) – understandably, Nang Nak would be sympathetic since it was military duty which wrenched her beloved Mak from her.
2). Devotees also come in droves to ask her for winning lottery numbers. There are two holy trees near her shrine (one is pictured on the left), wrapped in colorful sacred sashes, where people believe “hints” of winning lottery numbers would be revealed.
* Obviously, women who are pregnant (or wishing to get pregnant) are advised NOT to come to this shrine~!! You wouldn’t wanna parade your bulging stomach to a bloodthirsty female ghost who lost her baby in childbirth~!! That’s just ASKING FOR TROUBLE~!!
Naturally, when people come here, they bring appropriate offerings for both Nang Nak and her child. Particularly popular are: traditional Thai clothes (pictured right), jewelry, make-up, toys and sweets. Devotees also cover her (very creepy-looking~!!) statue with gold leaves.
As for myself, I’ve never had any supernatural encounters, so I’m still keeping an open mind.....
But today’s encounter with an old woman in Nang Nak’s shrine has gotten me looking over my shoulders~!!
When I went to visit the shrine, I asked an elderly female attendant there (who was standing next to the gold leaf-covered statue) whether I could take pictures of Nang Nak’s statue (I mean, I thought it would be kind of rude just barging in there like a SWAT team and snapping pics, y’know~??).
The woman looked very friendly and peaceful. But when I asked her (in my most polite voice), her serene expression turned VERY unpleasant IN AN INSTANT and she told me in a very stern tone that I was NOT allowed to take any pictures.
NOBODY should be taking Nang Nak’s pictures, she claimed (which I know for a fact to be UNTRUE, because I have come across pictures of her statue many times before, usually taken by farang photographers, such as this one taken by Richard Barrow from thaiblogs.com - check out the original article HERE).
(As you can see here, Nang Nak's popularity is evident - check out all those "gifts"~!!)
Anyway, the crotchety old woman then came closer to Nang Nak’s statue and caressed the statue’s arm fondly and with such tenderness that I swear, the hairs at the back of my neck stood up~!!
“Nang Nak doesn’t like people bothering her,” the old woman said, looking at the statue with devotion so fierce in her eyes it creeped the hell out of me. She then turned to look at the statue's eyes, and said, "Isn't that right~??" as if expecting the statue to back up her claims. “People will just destroy everything~!!” Her voice rose and she shot me a look of pure accusation. I thought I saw something “more” there… Anger?HATRED?
Now, perhaps the heat and humidity were making me feel very uncomfortable… or perhaps all the smoke from the devotees’ joss sticks was preventing enough clean oxygen from reaching my brain… or maybe it was the mumblings of another woman next to me, her eyes transfixed on the gold leaf-covered statue in front… But right there and then... I got a VERY FORBIDDING feeling.
In short, I was totally creeped out.Not scared shitless, mind you… but I didn’t feel comfortable in pressing the issue at all.
I DID think about taking the pics SECRETLY (I mean hell, I’ve taken some forbidden pics many times before already~!!), but OK, I felt that the mood around me was NOT in my favor anymore. Was she just a senile old woman? Or was she telling the truth? Would I invoke the uncontrollable rage of Nang Nak if I went ahead~?!
I am now sorry to say that I completely CHICKENED OUT~!!!Me, the logical, cynical SSS~!!! I totally lost my balls (pardon my French; it’s just a figure of speech) because some creepy old lady had such a strong NEGATIVE reaction to me taking pictures of a feminine, gold leaf-covered statue in the heart of Sukhumvit~!! AAAARRRGGGHH~!!!
I am now (sheepishly) offering these other pics I managed to capture AROUND the temple and soi.
CLICK ON INDIVIDUAL PIC FOR A BIGGER VIEW (and more info).
Pii Mak jaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa~!!! (for those who don’t know, this is Nang Nak’s blood-curdling call to her husband, repeated again and again in numerous Thai TV dramas, and thus forever imprinted in the Thai psyche~!!)
OK. Enough with the oozy, gooey stuff I’d mentioned earlier. What SSS needs right now is some good ol’ fashioned raw and senseless VIOLENCE~!!
Boss keeps whining about everything? Kids endlessly pestering you to buy ‘em “stuff”? Office creep got you down?
If you’re feelin’ a bit pugilistic and contentious, don’t miss “Chocolate”, the new Thai action movie directed by Prachya Pinkaew of action flicks “Ong Bak” and “Tom Yam Goong” fame.
This time around, Pinkaew has a new fighter (rumor has it that he and Tony Jaa – star of both “Ong Bak” and “Tom Yam Goong” - had a falling out because the latter insisted on directing “Ong Bak 2”~!!)… slim, petite and FEMALE Nicharee “Jeeja” Vismistananda, who endured months of brutal training and bone-breaking stunts for the movie~!!
A note of caution:Better leave your brain at home before you watch “Chocolate”, because chances are, any intellectual impulses would be completely pulverized by the time you reach the middle part of the movie~!!
A short synopsis of the movie’s outrageous plot: Nicharee plays Zen, an autistic girl born from an ex-Thai mobster mistress Zin (played by Ammara Siripong) and a Japanese yakuza (played by Hiroshi Abe). Though Zen isn’t really “normal”, she has the amazing ability to record and replicate ANY martial arts style and over time, she grows into a real force to be reckoned with. When her mother Zin falls ill and needs LOTSA cash for medicines, Zen finds a list of people (all mean and nasty gangsters, of coz) who still owe debts to Zin. She decides to collect these debts... Not exactly a walk in the park, considering the "company" her mother used to hang out with~!! Nevertheless, Zin is unpertubed.
Anyone who refuses to pay will not be spared of her elbow strikes, karate chops and knee thrusts~!!!! You better get down on your knees and beg for mercy coz hell this girl can definitely KICK ASS~~!!!!
So yea, the plot is kinda dodgy, but WHO CAAAAARES ABOUT THE PLOT when you get to see Nicharee make mincemeat of tough baddies~!! Street toughs, sword-wielding assassins and even evil yappy katoeys are no match for her deadly skills~!!
I emerged from the theater with my head pounding and my blood pressure high.
When people asked me, “So what’s ‘Chocolate’ about?”, I gave ‘em a glazed look and deliriously replied, “Duuude~ you gotta check it out yourself~!! Those moves will surely come in handy the next time your little brother bugs the hell outta you~!!!”
P.S. At the end of "Chocolate", you'll be treated to a few behind-the-scenes takes where you'll see for yourself how hard-working, persistent and thick-skinned (plus perhaps a bit daft~??) the actors and stunts were in making the film... I'm talking about dislocated joints, concussions and broken bones~!!! OH, THE EXQUISITE PAIN~!!
Japan Foundation, 10th Flr. Sermmit Tower, 159 Sukhumvit 21 (Asoke)
Directed by KURISAKI Midori (1978) 112 mins
In this adaptation of a classic work of the puppet theater, Tokubei falls in love with a courtesan named Ohatsu but is forced to get married to a relative of his uncle
sukhumvit
bangkok
thailand
