03.24.08
Posted in Newspapers at 4:23 am by Greg
The Toronto Star, March 2008
For decades, Bangkok’s Chinatown has been one of the most popular draws for tourists visiting Thailand’s bustling capital city. The sidewalks that line the traffic-clogged streets are crowded with vendors selling everything from live seafood to unidentifiable fruit to gold-paint Mandarin calligraphy on demand, and tiny streets (called sois in Thai) jut off at crazy angles every ten meters or so, disappearing into shadows, their exit points a total mystery. Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted in Movie Reviews at 4:20 am by Greg
Mmm… ChocolSMACK!
*** out of *****
It’ll be hard in the future for any Thai martial arts movie not to be compared to Ong Bak, the badass punch-a-thon that put Thai fight films on the map. If you’ve seen that one, or its lame sequel Tom Yum Koong you pretty much know what to expect here. Prachya Pinkaew, the director of both of the aforementioned movies, returns to deliver more of the same, although instead of a rock-hard Isaan boy, he uses a lithe but quick young woman to mete out justice. Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted in Movie Reviews at 4:12 am by Greg
Mist Opportunity
* out of *****
Man, I really wanted to like this movie. In my humble opinion, “The Mist” is one of Stephen King’s greatest short stories, equaled in creepiness only by another of his short stories called “The Jaunt”. I first read it about 18 years ago and have waited for a movie version ever since, but am pretty pissed that this is what I got. During the movie’s good parts I was barely impressed; during the bad parts I actually thought about leaving. I might come off a bit harsh here, but a movie with this pedigree of talent behind it should have been much better. Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted in Movie Reviews at 4:12 am by Greg
Between the Rock and a Hard Case
**1/2 out of *****
I guess it’s a standard move these days for ‘tough guy’ actors to broaden their horizons (and fan base) by appearing in cute comedies out of their element or with kids and/or animals. Arnie cleaned up in Kindergarten Cop; Vin Diesel failed miserably in The Pacifier and let’s not mention Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot. It’s a delicate balancing act - act too cute and you’ll look like a limp vegetable; too tough and you won’t be stretching your image. In The Game Plan, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson uses his formidable on-screen likeability to mostly pull it off, although the script offers zero surprises and every cliche in the book. Despite this, it’s a great family film to bring the kids to. Read the rest of this entry »
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