Hi-Jaa! Where is he now? Plus Protector 2 in U.S, TYG2 in China

Better not let your elephant see you tinkling those ivories. Via Tony Jaa Official Facebook page

This is another installment of the occasional feature of this blog that catches up on news of Tony Jaa.

Tony Jaa recently wrapped a globetrot that took him to Hollywood, where he schmoozed with celebrities, and to Switzerland, where he performed handstands in a ritzy hotel lobby.

After a brief stop back home in Thailand, he jetted off again to start production on his Hong Kong action debut, SPL II, which will see him clashing with Wu Jing. Pou-Soi Cheang directs this sequel-in-name-only to 2005's SPL, which was directed by Wilson Yip, who's now producing. Original SPL leading man Simon Yam also stars.

You can follow all of Jaa's moves on his official Facebook page.

Meanwhile, Tom-Yum-Goong 2 opened over the weekend in select U.S. cinemas as The Protector 2. Reviews aren't pretty. They include the New York Times, Village Voice, New York Daily News, the AV Club and The Hollywood Reporter. A number of them say it's his "comeback" following his controversial "meltdown" during filming of Ong-Bak 2 and Ong-Bak 3, but really it's his swansong with studio Sahamongkol, which he left in the midst of making TYG2 during a contract dispute.

Now he's on to the next phase of his career, as an international action star and man of mystery.

Still, Sahamongkol is wringing Tom-Yum-Goong 2 for all it's worth, with a "wide release" recently in China – some 2,500 screens, the biggest yet for a Thai film. The Nation's Soopsip had more details about that, including a red-carpet appearance by Jaa's co-stars, Jeeja Yanin and Rhatha Pho-ngam.

A Blu-ray release for The Protector 2 is set for July 29.

Finally, it's the early 2000s again as Tony Jaa gets a mention in the newly reconstituted Kaiju Shakedown, the blog by Asian film raconteur Grady Hendrix. Now at home at Film Comment, Hendrix looks back at all the main figures of Thai cinema's boom days of the late '90s and early aughts, wondering "where are they now?"

Jaa, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Pen-ek Ratanaruang, Ekachai Uekrongtham, Banjong Pisanthanakun, Chookiat Sakveerakul and Nonzee Nimibutr – they've all been right here, steadily working. Just one of the stalwarts of the New Thai Cinema Movement mentioned – Wisit Sasanatieng – has faded from view. Perhaps Wisit could get his long-gestating Muay Thai biopic Suriya out of development hell with help from Jaa and a host of international backers?

Rhatha Pho-ngam and Jeeja Yanin on the Beijing film fest red carpet for the Chinese premiere of Tom-Yum-Goong 2.

Special Bangkok screenings for P, Censor Must Die and It Gets Better

Two films by filmmakers who have been banned and another film that's never been screened publicly in Thailand will be shown next week in Bangkok.

First off, filmmaker Paul Spurrier celebrates this Thursday's Halloween at his private cinema, The Friese Greene-Club, with a rare treat – a special screening of his 2005 horror film P, in which a dancer at a Soi Cowboy go-go bar uses black magic to upstage the others.

Weirdly, the film has never been screened publicly in Thailand, though it was released on Blu-ray a few years ago. There's a reason why P never unspooled in Thai cinemas, but I think it's a story best told by Paul himself while you enjoy a tasty beverage at the bar in his club. Anyway, this Halloween will be the film's Thai premiere.

Shows start at 8pm. The FGC is down an alley next to the Queen's Park Imperial Hotel on Sukhumvit Soi 22. With just nine seats, the screening room fills up fast, so please check the website to make bookings.

Next week, from November 5 to 9, the Friese-Greene Club will host special screenings of Censor Must Die, the documentary by Ing K. that deals with the banning of her previous film, Shakespeare Must Die. It's an instructive look at a brand-new Thai bureaucracy – the Culture Ministry's Film and Video Board and its film-ratings system.

Though the movie has been cleared for public screenings, Ing K. is still being a bit cagey about it, so the screenings are for card-carrying FGC members only. Membership at the moment is free. If you're not yet a member, you just need to get down to the club and put your name in the book 24 hours before you plan to see the movie. Also, for this movie, there is an admission price: 150 baht.

Next Monday, November 4, The Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand screens It Gets Better (ไม่ได้ขอให้มารั, Mai Dai Kor Hai Ma Rak) by Tanwarin Sukkhapisit.

It's the followup to her debut feature, Insects in the Backyard, which was banned for its frank depictions of sexuality and sex acts. It Gets Better takes a broader, more-commercially appealing approach to addressing the issues of sexuality and gender.

The top nominee at the Subhanahongsa Awards this year, the movie is structured in three segments that increasingly intertwine. One story deals with a fiftysomething post-op ladyboy (played by actress Penpak Sirikul) who is touring around a small town in Thailand's scenic north. Another part deals with a young man who returns to Thailand after the death of his father and discovers his dad ran a ladyboy cabaret in Pattaya. He finds himself falling for one of the bar's staff. And the third story is about an effeminate young man who is shipped off to the monkhood after his father discovers him dressing up in his mother's clothes.

Tanwarin will be present at the FCCT for a post-screening question-and-answer session. Entry for non-members is 150 baht plus 100 baht more for anyone wanting to sip the wines provided by Village Farm and Winery. The showtime is 8pm.

Mom Noi's Rashomon remake lands on DVD as At the Gate of the Ghost

Director ML Bhandevanov Devakula's Northern Thailand take on Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon has been picked up by Magnet Releasing, given the new title At the Gate of the Ghost and put out on English-friendly Region 1 DVD and Blu-ray.

Peter Nellhaus has a review at Coffee Coffee and More Coffee.

Headlined by a cast that includes Ananda Everingham as the warlord, Cherman Boonyasak as his wife and Mario Maurer as the monk, the film was released in 2011 as U Mong Pa Mueang (อุโมงค์ผาเมือง) with the provisional international English title of The Outrage, which was the same as the 1960s Hollywood western Rashomon remake that starred Paul Newman and was directed by Martin Ritt (check out Hombre instead).

The release of U Mong Pa Mueang in Thailand was heavily promoted, thanks to the star power of Ananda and Ploy Chermarn, who had previously starred in "Mom Noi" Bhandevanov's hit erotic drama Chua Fah Din Salai (Eternity). It was also a tie-in with the centennial birth anniversary of Thai statesman, author and artist MR Kukrit Pramoj, who had translated a stage version of Rashomon, which Mom Noi had a one time directed. He then used the stage version as the basis for his film adaptation.

The DVD package, featuring Ananda and the bandit (Dom Hetrakul) swordfighting against a backdrop of a Thai-style structure, touts the awards and nominations of U Mong Pa Mueang – Asian Film Awards noms for Mario and costumes, Bangkok Critics Assembly Awards for art director and supporting actress for Radklao Amaradit as the medium, and Subhanahongsa Awards for costumes and visual effects.

On DVD: Headshot, Mundane History, Dark Flight, The Kick, I Miss U

There have been several recent English-friendly releases of Thai films in various parts of the world.

Probably the most prominent is Headshot, Pen-ek Ratanaruang's unique and acclaimed hitman thriller. Thailand's submission to the Oscars, Headshot has been a fixture on the festival circuit this year and won a bunch of awards in Thailand. Released on DVD and Blu-ray in the U.S. by Kino Lorber (which includes an English dub in addition to the original soundtrack), it's the first time in years Pen-ek's had a Stateside release of one of his films.

Indie director Anocha Suwichakornpong's debut feature Mundane History (เจ้านกกระจอก, Jao Nok Krajok) has been released in the U.K. by Second Run. The drama is about a paralyzed young man from a wealthy family forming a friendship with his nurse, a young man from the rural northeast. A story of Thailand's great class divide that eventually goes back to the very forming of the cosmos, it's taken awhile for this acclaimed 2009 film to find its way to English-friendly DVD. Now, reviews are comparing it to newer movies, like Terrence Malick's Tree of Life or the French blockbuster Intouchables.

Anocha has self-released Mundane History on DVD in Thailand, but, of course, there are no English subtitles. There's an English-friendly Region 2 Dutch release, but it looks like the U.K. version is the one to get thanks to such extras as a booklet featuring a long essay by critic Carmen Gray. There’s also Anocha's 2006 graduate-thesis short film Graceland, which was the first Thai film to be selected for the Cannes Cinefondation competition. And there's an interview with her.

Meanwhile, there are a bunch of Thai genre films, mainly horror titles, out in Hong Kong.

Five Star's bumpy airplane thriller Dark Flight, the first Thai film actually filmed in 3D, is offered on Blu-ray in both 2D and 3D. There's also a 2D DVD release. Directed by Isara Nadee, who was part of the Ronin Team that did the Art of the Devil movies, and scripted in part by Ronin Team member Kongkiat Khomsiri, the haunted airliner tale stars Marsha Wattanapanich as a veteran flight attendant who's troubled past causes problems for passengers and fellow crew on a short, stormy hop from Bangkok to Phuket.

The Kick is a fairly entertaining mix of Korean and Thai martial arts, with a family of taekwando experts clashing with gangsters who've stolen a treasured ancient Siamese dagger. Along with the South Korean cast, the film directed by Ong-Bak and Chocolate helmer Prachya Pinkaew also features Jeeja Yanin and funnyman Mum Jokmok and action choreography by Panna Rittikrai. It's on DVD and Blu-ray.

And there's I Miss U  (รักฉันอย่าคิดถึงฉัน, Rak Chan Yaa Khid Tueng Chang), director Monthon Arayangkoon's horror romance tale about a widowed, guilt-ridden chief surgeon (Jessadaporn Pholdee) who just won't let go of the memories of his dead wife (Natthaweeranuch Thongmee), and a plucky first-year resident doctor (Apinya Sakuljaroensuk) who finds herself haunted as she gets closer to the grieving guy. Inthira Charoenpura also stars. Controversially, studio M-Thirtynine released I Miss U in Thai cinemas with three different endings, which screened on different weeks during the movie's run. However, it appears there's only one ending available on the Hong Kong home-video release, even though the "alternate endings" gimmick seems tailor-made to be a bonus feature. It's on DVD and Blu-ray.

(Thanks Logboy!)

On Blu-ray in Hong Kong: Laddaland

One of the year's best Thai films, Laddaland, has hit English-subtitled Blu-ray and DVD in Hong Kong.

Directed by Sophon Sakdaphisit, the screenwriter of Shutter who made his directorial debut with Coming Soon, Laddaland is a dread-filled family psychological drama dressed up as a ghost story.

It's about a young father, struggling to keep his family together, who seeks a fresh start in Chiang Mai, and moves his wife and two children to a housing estate called Laddaland. It's all lawn sprinklers and golden retrievers until a Burmese maid is found murdered and stuffed into a refrigerator in the house down the street. Dad's dream home becomes a nightmare and his chance at a new life with his family comes unravelled.

YesAsia has the goods, either on Region A Blu-ray or Region 3 DVD.

(Thanks Logboy!)

Apichatpong-a-rama: Boonmee Blu-ray, Irish exhibition, out of Venice, monkey ghost sighting

Apichatpong Weerasethakul's Cannes prize-winner Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives made its highly anticipated debut on Blu-ray in the U.S. last month, after a bit of an apparent delay.

The redoubtable DVD Beaver gives it a look, and includes a set of stunning screenshots. Reviewer Gary Tooze says the film "doesn't appear visually overwhelming ... but knowing the director's other features – I'd be more inclined to feel this is authentic rather than a fault of the respectable dual-layered transfer from Strand Releasing."

The only real technical nitpick seems to be a lossy soundtrack, which is a shame, because great care was taken with the sound design of Uncle Boonmee, and with Blu-ray, there's really no reason to have a compressed soundtrack.

Tooze goes on to praise the film as one of the best he's seen this year. "The director effortlessly produces a harmony within his films that becomes ... addictive. It floats with gentle grace and lands innocently in your cinematic lap."

There is also a review at Blu-ray.com, which is full of technical information, saying the transfer "is practically identical to the one used by British distributors New Wave Films for their local Blu-ray release."

Both reviews note that the Strand Releasing disc is region-free. According to the Blu-ray.com forum, the British release is locked to Region B.

Also, the subtitles are imposed – they can't be turned off – but the text size seems to not be as intrusive as the hard-burned subs on the Strand DVD release of Syndromes and a Century.

Extras on the Boonmee Blu-ray include "Interview with Apichatpong Weerasethakul", which he discusses the message of his film, its success and Thai culture, deleted scenes, the trailer, trailers for other Apichatpong films and the 17-minute short A Letter to Uncle Boonmee.

If you have a Blu-ray player, it sounds like the Blu-ray is the way to go for Uncle Boonmee – maybe even a good reason to get a Blu-ray player. It's also on DVD, but that doesn't have the Letter short.

Meanwhile, Apichatpong has been in Ireland with a season at the Irish Film Institute, in which he screened his short films, engaged in a conversation and showed his features, Uncle Boonmee, The Adventure of Iron Pussy, Blissfully Yours and Tropical Malady.

There's coverage of these activities at the Focuspullr blog. Here's a snip:

The director filled us in on his background in Thailand, and spoke of his time in Chicago studying experimental film. He was an amiable, intelligent and humourous interviewee; when asked if his films contained “a message”, he laughed saying this lack of any overt meaning was one of the problems he himself has with his films, and which also caused problems when he went looking for funding. He spoke about his belief in the “shared authorship” of his films – seeing the process of filmmaking as collaborative and open, though admitting that he is something of a “dictator” when it comes to putting the final film together.

The films were presented in collaboration with Dublin's Irish Museum of Modern Art on the occasion of Apichatpong's new multimedia exhibition For Tomorrow For Tonight, which opened on July 27 and is running until October 31.

It's a new work that explores the theme of night through video, photographs and installation. "Night and darkness are recurring motifs in Weerasethakul’s films ... and the themes are examined even further here," says the IMMA. It was created following the Primitive project and Uncle Boonmee.

Activities at the IMMA continue into next month. On September 7, film expert Tony Rayns will present a keynote lecture, Touching the Voidness in which he'll present an illustrated introduction to the art of Apichatpong.

Apichatpong continues to travel around the globe and is much in demand. But one place he won't be will be at the Venice Film Festival, where he was previously named as the head of the jury for the Orizzonti section. That program is set to premiere the debut documentary feature by another Thai artist, Rirkrit Tiravanija, about another Thai uncle, Lung Neaw Visits His Neighbours. Apichatpong has since bowed out of the jury – Variety cited a festival rep saying it was because of "personal reasons" – and has been replaced by Chinese director Jia Zhangke.

Apichatpong did make a stop at the Thai Film Archive in Salaya recently, giving a masterclass that was the first in a planned series of academic and technical workshops and seminars. He also dropped off some props from Uncle Boonmee: The veiled palanquin of the princess, a pair of mechanical catfish and a band of monkey ghosts, one of which is perched on ledge in the Thai Film Museum. They're good reasons to visit the place and see actual pieces of Thai cinema history.


(Thanks Logboy!)

On DVD in the U.S.: Bangkok Knockout

While Stateside English-friendly DVD releases of Thai movies seem to be pretty rare, Magnet Releasing continues with its practice of acquiring any action or fantasy title put out by Sahamongkol Film International, seemingly to the exclusion of any horror other-genre titles from other Thai studios.

Following last month's North American bow of the first two Naresuan movies as Kingdom of War, Magnet's upcoming release is B.K.O.: Bangkok Knockout, which is due out on August 30 on Blu-ray and DVD.

Since its release late last year Panna Rittikrai's stunt-spectacular Bangkok Knockout has enjoyed a run of the festivals, including the New York Asian Film Festival, North Carolina's ActionFest

and the Udine Far East Film Festival. It also screened earlier this year at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival and recently at Philadelphia's Danger After Dark.

Several reviews have turned up, including Maggie Lee at the Hollywood Reporter, Twitch, The Jaded Viewer, Unseen Films, Chud and Movie Buzzers. Consensus seems to be mixed, with raves for the insane action and thumbs down for everything else about it.

(Thanks Logboy!)

On DVD in the U.S.: Naresuan, Somtum, Vanquisher

Magnolia's Magnet Releasing continues to mine Sahamongkolfilm International's back catalog for action titles to release on Blu-ray and DVD in the U.S.

Due out on June 7 is MC Chatrichalerm Yukol's The Legend of King Naresuan Part I and Part II. They have been retitled by Magnet as Kingdom of War, which I guess is an okay title. And for film buffs who've been waiting for an English-friendly release of these movies, this is actually a pretty good deal, since it's the first two parts of Chatrichalerm's historical action drama in their entirety. Remember, his previous royal epic, Suriyothai, was edited way down for U.S. release by Than Mui's friend Francis Ford Coppola, though a five-hour version with English subtitles is available from Mangpong in Thailand. Meanwhile, The Legend of King Naresuan Part III: Naval Battle is still playing in Thai cinemas after nearly two months, and I would expect Magnet to pick it up along with the still-in-production Part IV, after whenever that ends up being released. Kingdom of War Parts I and II will be on Blu-ray and DVD.

A recent release by Magnet is Sahamongkol's fun action comedy Somtum, which gets a rather dumbed-down new title, Muay Thai Giant. Nathan Jones, who fought Tony Jaa in Tom Yum Goong, gets to play the good guy in this one – a hapless tourist who is drugged and robbed during a visit to Pattaya. He's then taken in by a pair of little girls, one of whom is Power Kid Kat Sasisa, who tries to teach him muay Thai boxing. But they instead discover the gentle giant's superpower when they feed him spicy papaya pok-pok salad, and he turns into a red, raging hulk. Meanwhile, the even bigger and meaner Conan Stevens is smuggling jewels, and somehow these two big men meet for a WWE-style throwdown that tears apart an airplane. Watch for guest appearances by Dan Chupong and his Born to Fight sister Nui Kessarin. Panna Rittikrai and his team provide the stuntwork. I liked Somtum a lot and am glad to see it get a U.S. release, even if it does have a dumb title. It's on both Blu-ray and DVD.

Finally, Magnet has put out Manop Udomdej's convoluted swords-and-spies thriller Suay ... Samurai, a.k.a. Vanquisher. And they just call it ... Vanquisher. Not Legend of the Vanquisher or Vanquishing Samurai or Sword of the Vanquisher or Vengeance of the Vanquisher or anything like that. Just Vanquisher. The story has pony-tailed catsuit-clad sword-toting female spy Sophita Sriban left for dead and betrayed while on a mission for the CIA. She then goes back to work for the police in Bangkok and nothing happens until stuff starts happening again. It's a mess, involving a duplicitous lady CIA agent (Jacqueline Apithananont), terrorists from southern Thailand and samurais and I don't know what else. But at least Born to Fight's Nui Kessarin in this one too, so there's at least one decent action scene. It's on Blu-ray and DVD.

Apichatpong-a-rama: Residence in New York, Boonmee on Blu-ray

With the Cannes Film Festival going on now, Apichatpong Weerasethakul's name has been in the news again, just because he won the Palme d'Or last year for Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past LIves.

The Cannes win launched Apichatpong on a global journey, touring the world with Uncle Boonmee to talk about it at film festivals and special screenings – too many for me to keep track of (though the unofficial Nashville Film Festival poster by Sam's Myth obviously caught my eye).

It's a trip Apichatpong's still on, and most recently it's taken him back to New York City, where he's begun a monthlong residency at SoHo's New Museum, where his Primitive video-art installation is being exhibited from May 19 to July 3. The Wall Street Journal online has more on Primitive.

He's also taking part in the Blissfully Thai film series at the Asia Society, which started yesterday with Pen-ek Ratanaruang's Ploy, and today he and Pen-ek will sit in the same room together in front of a live audience for a "conversation". Who knows what might happen? Should be interesting.

At the New Museum on Sunday, he'll present Around the World of Apichatpong Weerasethakul, a four-hour show-and-tell in which he'll discuss excerpts from all his features. On May 19 and May 22, he'll present selections of his short films. And on May 26 he'll present Quick Billy, a 1960s “horse opera" by Bruce Baillie, an experimental filmmaker that Joei cites as a major influence. IndieWire has more about these programs.

Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives comes to Region A Blu-ray and Region 1 DVD in July.

This is the U.S. edition by Strand Releasing, which looks to be stepping up its game with the Blu-ray – a first I believe for both Strand and Apichatpong. Bonus features on the Blu-ray include the companion Primitive short A Letter to Uncle Boonmee, deleted scenes, an interview with Apichatpong and trailers of his other films. The Strand DVD does not list the Letter short as an extra.

And curiously, the cover art that's shown at Amazon is not the Chris Ware poster design. Rather, it's the red-eyed monkey ghost that's been used a lot already.

Anyway, if you're into Blu-ray, then by all means get the Blu-ray of Boonmee, I guess. But for viewers still stuck with just plain-old DVDs, maybe the Region 2 British release would be better if you have a player that can handle it. Maybe wait for the comparison.

A few other odds and ends I've been accumulating over the past couple months or so:

• Does everyone care about Uncle Boonmee? Should everyone? Read it at Everyone Likes Movies.
• And then go read Chuck Stephens' review of Boonmee at Film Comment.
• Chicago Sun-Times blogger Jim Emerson waxes rapturously about Boonmee.
• Hell on Frisco Bay's Brian Darr talks about Apichatpong and Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives on Look of the Week, a videocast by Sara Vizcarrondo. Brian's segment – check out his T-shirt – comes somewhere in the middle of the video.

Ong-Bak 3 on DVD in the U.K. in October

So that monkhood thing was pretty serious. Khun Tatchakorn Yeerum (ทัชชกร ยีรัมย์) , formerly Panom Yeerum (พนม ยีรัมย์), hasn't been heard from or seen since. Guess it's going to be awhile before Tony Jaa makes a movie. If ever again.

So what about his latest movie, Ong-Bak 3? I would have thought it'd be obligatory for the Toronto International Film Festival's Midnight Madness program. But no.

Maybe they didn't like the torture.

Ong-Bak 3 is out on VCD and DVD in Thailand. They're selling it on the counter at the 7-Eleven as an impulse buy. Which is cool. I've halfway thought of picking it up myself. No subtitles of course. But hey.

Anyway, fans outside Thailand are in luck. It's coming to DVD in the U.K. on October 11. Amazon has it listed. Blu-ray too.

(Thanks Logboy!)

Ong-Bak 2 sets Blu-ray sales record

The Blu-ray of Ong-Bak 2 has done well since being released in the U.S., charting at No. 6 for the week ending February 7 and managing a record 43% Blu-ray market share, according to Blu-ray.com, which bases its report on figures from Home Media Magazine and Neilson Videoscan First Alert.

I am assuming the "record" is for new-released Blu-ray titles. Anybody know for sure? Let me know.

There are lots of reviews of Ong-Bak 2 rolling in.

High-Def Digest has one, noting it is a "brilliantly choreographed slugfest" and praising the cinematography and direction of Tony Jaa and Panna Rittikrai, but also looking at the technical aspects of the BRD, which has "extremely sub-par video and ... slightly disappointing audio".

Another review is at DVD Talk, which says that included on the Blu-ray is the "Alternate Cut", which is "essentially a European re-edit of the film, from Luc Besson's company EuropaCorp. The differences between the Theatrical Cut (97:50) and the Alternate Cut (88:27) boil down to a streamlining of the action beats to best appeal to casual audiences."

Blogcritics has a dual review of Ong-Bak 2: The Beginning and the Blu-ray of Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior, which was released on February 2, the same day as Ong-Bak 2.

Finally, there's Kung Fu Cinema, which goes old school and reviews the DVD of Ong-Bak 2, noting that the two-disc "Collector's Edition" has all the same features as the Blu-ray, except, of course, the high resolution.

Here's the extras:

• The Making of Ong-Bak 2: The Story and Characters of an Epic (7 min.)
• The Making of Ong-Bak 2: Revealing the Majesty (7 min.)
• The Making of Ong Bak: The Art of War (7 min.)
• Behind the Scenes: Capturing a Warrior (5:00 min.)
• Behind the Scenes: The Kingdom (6 min.)
• Behind the Scenes: The Community (7 min.)
• Interviews with Cast and Crew (25 min.)
• HDNet: A Look at ONG BAK 2 (3 min.)
• Ong Bak 3 – Exclusive Footage (2 min.)
• International and U.S. trailers for Ong-Bak 2
• High-def trailers for Red Cliff, District 13: Ultimatum, Bronson and The Warlords

Makes me want to get into Blu-ray. Anybody in Thailand with recommendations on where to shop or what whether I can expect region-coding hassles if I shop locally?