Veteran Japanese character actor Tadanobu Asano is having a very overdue breakthrough moment. The chameleonic film star has been a mainstay of Japanese cinema for nearly three decades, while also regularly appearing in prominent supporting parts in big Hollywood productions. But his irresistible performance in FX’s period series Shōgun is giving him an all-new level of global recognition.
Asano co-stars in Shōgun as Kashigi Yabushige, the scheming lord of Izu, a rugged region of feudal Japan where much of the series takes place. Playing the character with lived-in swagger and a fatalistic sense of humor, Asano has become one of the show’s clear fan favorites, with Reddit and Twitter threads popping up to revel in his character’s antics. Asano announced himself early in Shōgun‘s run: As many have marveled, Yabushige makes his entrance to the show by boiling a man alive but then wins the audience...
Asano co-stars in Shōgun as Kashigi Yabushige, the scheming lord of Izu, a rugged region of feudal Japan where much of the series takes place. Playing the character with lived-in swagger and a fatalistic sense of humor, Asano has become one of the show’s clear fan favorites, with Reddit and Twitter threads popping up to revel in his character’s antics. Asano announced himself early in Shōgun‘s run: As many have marveled, Yabushige makes his entrance to the show by boiling a man alive but then wins the audience...
- 4/10/2024
- by Patrick Brzeski
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The ever-busy Japanese character actor Tadanobu Asano — currently having a moment as one of the stars of Disney’s hit samurai series Shōgun — has joined the cast of Thai director Pen-ek Ratanaruang’s upcoming culinary thriller Morte Cucina. The actor and director last collaborated two decades ago on the romantic crime film Last Life in the Universe (2003), which was Thailand’s official submission to the Oscars that year and won Asano the best actor award at the Venice Film Festival.
Set in contemporary Bangkok, Morte Cucina follows a talented young female chef named Sao who has a chance encounter with a man who sexually abused her when she was a teen. “Using her talents in the kitchen, Sao sets her plan of revenge in motion — achieving a rather unexpected result,” the film’s logline reads.
The project’s producers are keeping the nature of Asano’s role under wraps for now,...
Set in contemporary Bangkok, Morte Cucina follows a talented young female chef named Sao who has a chance encounter with a man who sexually abused her when she was a teen. “Using her talents in the kitchen, Sao sets her plan of revenge in motion — achieving a rather unexpected result,” the film’s logline reads.
The project’s producers are keeping the nature of Asano’s role under wraps for now,...
- 3/26/2024
- by Patrick Brzeski
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
With a premise that is as simple or as complex as you’d like it to be, Monkey Man anoints Dev Patel as a new action director and star. Filmed on location in Mumbai and Indonesia in the height of the Covid pandemic and saved from a Netflix direct-to-streaming deal by Jordan Peele and Universal, this film about reinvention bursts with the same frenetic energy of a Danny Boyle or John Woo picture, with Patel––co-writer, director, star, and sometimes camera operator––throwing everything he has at the screen, and then some.
The plot, on one level, is a simple revenge tale unfolding for reasons revealed at the narrative’s midpoint. Inspired by the Hindu myth of Hanuman Patel’s unnamed Kid embraces this persona in wrestling matches that have left him battle-tested before he undergoes a profound spiritual awakening. The training comes in handy when he plots his big...
The plot, on one level, is a simple revenge tale unfolding for reasons revealed at the narrative’s midpoint. Inspired by the Hindu myth of Hanuman Patel’s unnamed Kid embraces this persona in wrestling matches that have left him battle-tested before he undergoes a profound spiritual awakening. The training comes in handy when he plots his big...
- 3/12/2024
- by John Fink
- The Film Stage
Arvin Chen is to direct “Coolie,” a limited series featuring enslaved Chinese workers in 19th century Cuba.
The eight-part series is the first to emerge from Cathay Film Company, a recent production venture launched by Singapore-based industry veteran Meileen Choo.
In the mid-1800s, when the African slave trade was outlawed throughout the Americas, plantation owners in Cuba instead began trafficking indentured servants from China and other parts of Asia. These, so-called coolies were often treated as slaves, but some integrated into Cuban society and joined the country’s fight for independence from Spain. The provided a low-cost workforce for farms, restaurants, factories and were instrumental in setting up Chinatowns across the world.
With Hong Kong actor Louise Wong in the lead role as a young woman who departs from southern China to marry a political exile working on a sugarcane plantation in Cuba, the narrative sees her join forces...
The eight-part series is the first to emerge from Cathay Film Company, a recent production venture launched by Singapore-based industry veteran Meileen Choo.
In the mid-1800s, when the African slave trade was outlawed throughout the Americas, plantation owners in Cuba instead began trafficking indentured servants from China and other parts of Asia. These, so-called coolies were often treated as slaves, but some integrated into Cuban society and joined the country’s fight for independence from Spain. The provided a low-cost workforce for farms, restaurants, factories and were instrumental in setting up Chinatowns across the world.
With Hong Kong actor Louise Wong in the lead role as a young woman who departs from southern China to marry a political exile working on a sugarcane plantation in Cuba, the narrative sees her join forces...
- 10/19/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Acclaimed Thai auteur Pen-ek Ratanaruang is reteaming with veteran, Asia-based cinematographer Christopher Doyle for a subversive psychological thriller set in the colorful world of Thai cuisine.
Bangkok-set film Morte Cucina follows a talented young female chef named Sao who has a chance encounter with a man who sexually abused her when she was a teen. “Using her talents in the kitchen, Sao sets her plan of revenge in motion — achieving a rather unexpected result,” the film’s logline reads.
Morte Cucina is co-written by Pen-ek and Kongdej Jaturanrasamee (Hunger, Faces of Anne). It will be Pen-ek’s first feature since his noir crime thriller Samui Song, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2017. The project reunites the Thai auteur and Doyle for the first time since their 2003 project together, Last Life in the Universe, which was Thailand’s official submission to the Oscars that year, and also won its Japanese star,...
Bangkok-set film Morte Cucina follows a talented young female chef named Sao who has a chance encounter with a man who sexually abused her when she was a teen. “Using her talents in the kitchen, Sao sets her plan of revenge in motion — achieving a rather unexpected result,” the film’s logline reads.
Morte Cucina is co-written by Pen-ek and Kongdej Jaturanrasamee (Hunger, Faces of Anne). It will be Pen-ek’s first feature since his noir crime thriller Samui Song, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2017. The project reunites the Thai auteur and Doyle for the first time since their 2003 project together, Last Life in the Universe, which was Thailand’s official submission to the Oscars that year, and also won its Japanese star,...
- 6/1/2023
- by Patrick Brzeski
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Scriptwriter of “Last Life in the Universe”, Prabda Yoon’s feature debut is a film equally unorthodox, through a genre mash-up that seems to focus more on style than context.
Motel Mist is available from Raintrail Pictures
A love motel on the outskirts of Bangkok called Motel Mistress becomes the central location for five people whose lives eventually intertwine in the most unexpected fashion, along with Nid, the mother of a now disappeared celebrity, who describes her son’s, Tul, obsession with aliens on TV. Sopol, a middle-aged father-like figure picks up a young girl, Laila, from school, only to indulge in his intense S&m fetishes in room number 7, his custom-made erotic chamber. The aforementioned Tul eventually also arrives in the same hotel, insisting for room 5, even paying a large amount of money to get, only to paint it black in order to communicate with aliens. Tot, the motel attendant,...
Motel Mist is available from Raintrail Pictures
A love motel on the outskirts of Bangkok called Motel Mistress becomes the central location for five people whose lives eventually intertwine in the most unexpected fashion, along with Nid, the mother of a now disappeared celebrity, who describes her son’s, Tul, obsession with aliens on TV. Sopol, a middle-aged father-like figure picks up a young girl, Laila, from school, only to indulge in his intense S&m fetishes in room number 7, his custom-made erotic chamber. The aforementioned Tul eventually also arrives in the same hotel, insisting for room 5, even paying a large amount of money to get, only to paint it black in order to communicate with aliens. Tot, the motel attendant,...
- 1/17/2021
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
The romance genre across the world is awash with features that connect two people in the same place in different time-frames through a common MacGuffin. For Thailand, in 2014, director Nithiwat Tharathorn made one of the best romances that uses such a MacGuffin with “The Teacher’s Diary”.
The story begins with two teachers, Mr Song and Ms Ann, being deployed for various reasons to a remote floating school with a very small number of students. As Mr Song cleans up and sets his new classroom, he comes across a diary. The diary, as it turns out, belonged to Ms Ann and the two teachers, as it also tuns out, have both been sent to the school a year apart from each other, with the male being a replacement for the recently departed female teacher. As he reads on in the diary, he realises that the two have shared...
The story begins with two teachers, Mr Song and Ms Ann, being deployed for various reasons to a remote floating school with a very small number of students. As Mr Song cleans up and sets his new classroom, he comes across a diary. The diary, as it turns out, belonged to Ms Ann and the two teachers, as it also tuns out, have both been sent to the school a year apart from each other, with the male being a replacement for the recently departed female teacher. As he reads on in the diary, he realises that the two have shared...
- 1/9/2021
- by Rhythm Zaveri
- AsianMoviePulse
Pen-ek Ratanaruang studied in New York at the Pratt Institute from 1977 to 1985 and worked as freelance illustrator and designer. In Thailand he worked for five years as art director, before making his debut with “Fun Bar Karaoke”. His filmography includes titles like “6isxtynin9”, “Last Life in the Universe”, “Invisible Waves” and “Samui Song“.
On the occasion of him shooting “Folklore: Pob” and “Food Lore: The Caterer” for the Eric Khoo-helmed HBO Asia productions, we speak with him about his career, the two episodes, Parama Wutthikornditsakul, Thai food, and inevitably, the corona virus.
You have been shooting films since the 90’s. What are the most important changes you have seen in the industry during that time, and in what ways do you think you have changed as a filmmaker?
The most obvious change would be the industry switching from celluloid to digital. Cameras has gotten smaller and smaller, so are other equipment,...
On the occasion of him shooting “Folklore: Pob” and “Food Lore: The Caterer” for the Eric Khoo-helmed HBO Asia productions, we speak with him about his career, the two episodes, Parama Wutthikornditsakul, Thai food, and inevitably, the corona virus.
You have been shooting films since the 90’s. What are the most important changes you have seen in the industry during that time, and in what ways do you think you have changed as a filmmaker?
The most obvious change would be the industry switching from celluloid to digital. Cameras has gotten smaller and smaller, so are other equipment,...
- 3/23/2020
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Four of the most renowned genre filmmakers in the Southeast Asian region – Eric Khoo from Singapore, Joko Anwar from Indonesia, Pen-Ek Ratanaruang from Thailand, and Ho Yuhang from Malaysia – come together in this session to discuss the creation and their involvement in the HBO Asia series “Folklore“. How does folklore inspire and inform horror in each of the directors’ works? What are the research processes and responsibilities of representing their cultures in an internationalised genre film market?
Description
A Fear of Monsters: Folklore and Horror in Cinema
9 June 2019
3 – 4.30pm
Oldham Theatre. Free admission with registration
Speakers:
Eric Khoo (Singapore), director of “Folklore: Nobody“
Joko Anwar (Indonesia), director of “Folklore: A Mother’s Love“
Pen-Ek Ratanaruang (Thailand), director of “Folklore: Pob“
Ho Yuhang (Malaysia), director of “Folklore: Toyol“
Moderator:
Wardah Mohammad, Management Assistant Officer (Outreach) at Nus Museum
Wardah Mohamad (b. 1991) graduated from Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in 2011. Since then...
Description
A Fear of Monsters: Folklore and Horror in Cinema
9 June 2019
3 – 4.30pm
Oldham Theatre. Free admission with registration
Speakers:
Eric Khoo (Singapore), director of “Folklore: Nobody“
Joko Anwar (Indonesia), director of “Folklore: A Mother’s Love“
Pen-Ek Ratanaruang (Thailand), director of “Folklore: Pob“
Ho Yuhang (Malaysia), director of “Folklore: Toyol“
Moderator:
Wardah Mohammad, Management Assistant Officer (Outreach) at Nus Museum
Wardah Mohamad (b. 1991) graduated from Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in 2011. Since then...
- 6/1/2019
- by Rhythm Zaveri
- AsianMoviePulse
“I like the feeling that the sea isn’t judging me. […]”
“Strange. It’s judging me all the time.”
For many directors, or artists in general, one of the possible developments in one’s career might be the path towards expansion. The lure of big budgets comes with great responsibility, but also with the opportunity to realize concepts on a much bigger scale economically than before, as well as reaching a bigger audience. If one takes for example the careers of artists like Christopher Nolan or Darren Aronofsky, the opportunity leads to a realization of one’s vision with vastly different possibilities while not eliminating the element of failure, a condition which in the big budget-world will not be tolerated for long.
Other artists like Thai director Pen-Ek Ratanaruang consider that the key to move forward is reduction and limitation. Whereas his films so far have been financed with a relatively small budget,...
“Strange. It’s judging me all the time.”
For many directors, or artists in general, one of the possible developments in one’s career might be the path towards expansion. The lure of big budgets comes with great responsibility, but also with the opportunity to realize concepts on a much bigger scale economically than before, as well as reaching a bigger audience. If one takes for example the careers of artists like Christopher Nolan or Darren Aronofsky, the opportunity leads to a realization of one’s vision with vastly different possibilities while not eliminating the element of failure, a condition which in the big budget-world will not be tolerated for long.
Other artists like Thai director Pen-Ek Ratanaruang consider that the key to move forward is reduction and limitation. Whereas his films so far have been financed with a relatively small budget,...
- 3/2/2019
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
Pen-ek Ratanaruang is a name already recognized and respected inside Asian cinema culture. His filmography has gone from less to more, and lately, the quality of his work has reached a very appreciable level. “Samui Song” is the new film that he directs after “Headshot” from 2011, and he definitely maintains the good stylized quality that one had. It has been 6 years of patient waiting for us to see a new movie of his, but to be honest, it was worth it.
Samui Song is screening at Five Flavours
Pen-ek Ratanaruang is sometimes known for mixing different genres, like in “6ixtynin9” or in “Last Life in the Universe”, where he mixes drama with comedy. Here, he is more focused and tells the story in a stylized noirish way with some thriller elements, as it occurred with his previous film “Headshot”.
Samui Song is about Viyada (or Vi), a well-known soap opera...
Samui Song is screening at Five Flavours
Pen-ek Ratanaruang is sometimes known for mixing different genres, like in “6ixtynin9” or in “Last Life in the Universe”, where he mixes drama with comedy. Here, he is more focused and tells the story in a stylized noirish way with some thriller elements, as it occurred with his previous film “Headshot”.
Samui Song is about Viyada (or Vi), a well-known soap opera...
- 11/20/2018
- by Pedro Morata
- AsianMoviePulse
Korean actress, Lee Chae-Yeon will star in HBO Asia’s new horror anthology, and original drama series, “Folklore.”
Production has wrapped for the six-part hour-long series that was shot in various locations in Asia including Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand and South Korea. The series is scheduled to premiere later this year on HBO Asia’s on-air, online and on-demand platforms.
Developed by HBO Asia and created by award-winning Singaporean film maker, Eric Khoo, all six episodes take place across multiple Asian countries including Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. Each episode is based on each country’s deeply-rooted superstitions and myths, and presented in the local language of the country that the episode is based in, with English and local-language subtitles.
The six directors involved in “Folklore” are Indonesia’s Joko Anwar; Japan’s Takumi Saitoh; Lee Sang-Woo from Korea, Ho Yuhang from Malaysia; Eric Khoo (“12 Storeys”) from Singapore,...
Production has wrapped for the six-part hour-long series that was shot in various locations in Asia including Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand and South Korea. The series is scheduled to premiere later this year on HBO Asia’s on-air, online and on-demand platforms.
Developed by HBO Asia and created by award-winning Singaporean film maker, Eric Khoo, all six episodes take place across multiple Asian countries including Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. Each episode is based on each country’s deeply-rooted superstitions and myths, and presented in the local language of the country that the episode is based in, with English and local-language subtitles.
The six directors involved in “Folklore” are Indonesia’s Joko Anwar; Japan’s Takumi Saitoh; Lee Sang-Woo from Korea, Ho Yuhang from Malaysia; Eric Khoo (“12 Storeys”) from Singapore,...
- 4/26/2018
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Headshot is from director Pen-Ek Ratanaruang, considered one of Thai cinema’s leading “new wave” auteurs. He is best known for his 2003 film Last Life in the Universe and if his new film is half as good, than it is well worth your time. Based on a novel called Rain Falling Up the Sky by a well-known Thai writer, Win Lyovarin, who actually originally intended it to be a sceenplay.
Intresting progam note from Tiff:
Working with his regular cinematographer, Chankit Chamnivikaipong, Pen-ek evokes Tul’s journey into the underworld in unusually muted and dusky tones. Vichaya Vatanasapt’s music gives us a sense of perpetually downward movement. And in Jayanama, with whom the director has now worked twice, Headshot finds its perplexed soul, always struggling to make the closest thing to a moral choice in a deeply immoral world.
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Intresting progam note from Tiff:
Working with his regular cinematographer, Chankit Chamnivikaipong, Pen-ek evokes Tul’s journey into the underworld in unusually muted and dusky tones. Vichaya Vatanasapt’s music gives us a sense of perpetually downward movement. And in Jayanama, with whom the director has now worked twice, Headshot finds its perplexed soul, always struggling to make the closest thing to a moral choice in a deeply immoral world.
Previous Next...
- 9/8/2011
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
International (meaning English subtitled) trailer for Headshot by Thai director Pen-Ek Ratanaruang who some of you might remember from his 2003 drama Last Life in the Universe. The film will is based on the novel Rain Falling Up the Sky by Win Lyovarin and will premiere on the Toronto International Film Festival
[See full post to watch this video]
Synopsis:
Present-day Thailand is rife with corruption. Tul, a straight-laced cop, is blackmailed by a powerful politician and framed from a crime he did not commit. Disillusioned and vengeful, he is soon recruited to become a hitman for a shadowy group aimed at eliminating those who are above the law. But one day, Tul is shot in the head during an assignment. He wakes up after a three-month coma to find that he sees everything upside down, literally.
Unaware of whether the condition is medical or a result of karmic retribution, Tul begins to have second thoughts about his profession.
[See full post to watch this video]
Synopsis:
Present-day Thailand is rife with corruption. Tul, a straight-laced cop, is blackmailed by a powerful politician and framed from a crime he did not commit. Disillusioned and vengeful, he is soon recruited to become a hitman for a shadowy group aimed at eliminating those who are above the law. But one day, Tul is shot in the head during an assignment. He wakes up after a three-month coma to find that he sees everything upside down, literally.
Unaware of whether the condition is medical or a result of karmic retribution, Tul begins to have second thoughts about his profession.
- 9/5/2011
- by Ulrik
- Affenheimtheater
We like Pen-Ek Ratanaruang around here a lot. Sixty-Nine is a consummate post-Tarantino black comedy and Last Life in the Universe could be considered a major touchstone film amongst many of the Twitch writing staff. Some might say that the Thai director's output has been spotty since the derivative Invisible Waves in 2006 (although I think Nymph is seriously underrated as an existential horror film, which more than holds its own with Lars Von Trier's similar Antichrist.) Suffice it to say that his lastest film a literally upside-down cop thriller sees the director returning to high-concept genre filmmaking, which has me a bit giddy with anticipation for its Tiff 2011 bow. We've got the subtitled trailer below, and fair warning, *there is enough nudity and...
- 9/4/2011
- Screen Anarchy
The first official poster for Pen-Ek Ratanaruang’s Headshot has arrived, from Twitch, and it’s pretty darn good. The crime-noir should prove there’s other types of films coming from Thailand than Muay Thai.
Present-day Thailand is rife with corruption. Tul, a straight-laced cop, is blackmailed by a powerful politician and framed from a crime he did not commit. Disillusioned and vengeful, he is soon recruited to become a hitman for a shadowy group aimed at eliminating those who are above the law. But one day, Tul is shot in the head during an assignment. He wakes up after a three-month coma to find that he sees everything upside down, literally. Unaware of whether the condition is medical or a result of karmic retribution, Tul begins to have second thoughts about his profession. But when he tries to quit, roles are reversed and the hunter becomes the hunted. Then...
Present-day Thailand is rife with corruption. Tul, a straight-laced cop, is blackmailed by a powerful politician and framed from a crime he did not commit. Disillusioned and vengeful, he is soon recruited to become a hitman for a shadowy group aimed at eliminating those who are above the law. But one day, Tul is shot in the head during an assignment. He wakes up after a three-month coma to find that he sees everything upside down, literally. Unaware of whether the condition is medical or a result of karmic retribution, Tul begins to have second thoughts about his profession. But when he tries to quit, roles are reversed and the hunter becomes the hunted. Then...
- 8/4/2011
- by Jon Peters
- Killer Films
Fresh off its announcement as part of the Vanguard lineup at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival, Twitch has a batch of new stills plus the first look at the official poster for Pen-Ek Ratanaruang's Headshot.Widely hailed as the return to the sort of smart, genre oriented fare that marked his early career, Headshot is a character driven crime noir from the director of Last Life In The Universe, Invisible Waves and Ploy.Present-day Thailand is rife with corruption. Tul, a straight-laced cop, is blackmailed by a powerful politician and framed from a crime he did not commit. Disillusioned and vengeful, he is soon recruited to become a hitman for a shadowy group aimed at eliminating those who are above the law. But one day,...
- 8/3/2011
- Screen Anarchy
The lovely folks over at Third Window Films, one of the UK's finest purveyors of Asian entertainment, have grabbed a couple of cool little titles from the Cannes film market. The first of which is Twitch favorite, Shinji Imaoka's (Bottled Vulva: Bank Teller Noriko) Underwater Love, and the second is comedy omnibus film Sabi Otoko Sabi Onna from directors Gen Sekiguchi (Survive Style 5+), Masaya Kakehi, Mipo Oh, Tomoko Matsunashi, and Yosuke Fujita (Fine, Totally Fine).Underwater Love has gotten a lot of love here. The film is probably best known for having been shot by legendary cinematographer Christopher Doyle (Chungking Express, Last Life in the Universe, The Limits of Control, etc), it seems to have a lot more going for it than that. The script,...
- 5/21/2011
- Screen Anarchy
Time for a quick break from the news coming out of Cannes. With the emphasis on quick, here's a bit on what's going on elsewhere.
First, on the film journal front, Midnight Eye's posted three new reviews and a feature by Mark Player, "Post-Human Nightmares: The World of Japanese Cyberpunk Cinema." The new Offscreen features pieces on Luis Buñuel, Jesús Franco, Wristcutters: A Love Story, A Single Man and 3D. Word from Catherine Grant: "The second issue of the new Movie: A Journal of Film Criticism has just been posted online, with a wonderful looking Lang dossier, a fine tribute to the late Robin Wood, which takes the form of seven of his rarest pieces from the 1960s, 70s and 80s. And there's more besides on Susan Hayward and Vincente Minnelli." Speaking of Lang, you'll want to see David Bordwell's latest entry on how Lang shifts our alignment and...
First, on the film journal front, Midnight Eye's posted three new reviews and a feature by Mark Player, "Post-Human Nightmares: The World of Japanese Cyberpunk Cinema." The new Offscreen features pieces on Luis Buñuel, Jesús Franco, Wristcutters: A Love Story, A Single Man and 3D. Word from Catherine Grant: "The second issue of the new Movie: A Journal of Film Criticism has just been posted online, with a wonderful looking Lang dossier, a fine tribute to the late Robin Wood, which takes the form of seven of his rarest pieces from the 1960s, 70s and 80s. And there's more besides on Susan Hayward and Vincente Minnelli." Speaking of Lang, you'll want to see David Bordwell's latest entry on how Lang shifts our alignment and...
- 5/16/2011
- MUBI
#20 – Valhalla Rising
Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn
Nicolas Winding Refn, who made the underrated Bronson in England and the striking Pusher series in Denmark creates a brutal, yet thoughtful, re-envisioning of the Viking saga. This Malick/Jodorowsky hybrid is one of the best looking films in recent memory. Its breathtaking digital photography across the bleak and otherworldly landscapes and atmospheric electronic score sets a tone quite like any other other film this year. There’s a midnight cult here for those who yearn for one. Valhalla Rising confirms Refn as one of the most fascinating directors working today.
#19 – Cold Fish
Directed by Sion Sono
Unflinching and unconscionable, Cold Fish is a black comedy with an obsidian pitch, a queer balancing act of outrageous humor and fathomless gore. Sly religious icons clutter the screen and the fetishistic fascination of Sono’s previous work is apparent, all wrapped up in an atypical...
Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn
Nicolas Winding Refn, who made the underrated Bronson in England and the striking Pusher series in Denmark creates a brutal, yet thoughtful, re-envisioning of the Viking saga. This Malick/Jodorowsky hybrid is one of the best looking films in recent memory. Its breathtaking digital photography across the bleak and otherworldly landscapes and atmospheric electronic score sets a tone quite like any other other film this year. There’s a midnight cult here for those who yearn for one. Valhalla Rising confirms Refn as one of the most fascinating directors working today.
#19 – Cold Fish
Directed by Sion Sono
Unflinching and unconscionable, Cold Fish is a black comedy with an obsidian pitch, a queer balancing act of outrageous humor and fathomless gore. Sly religious icons clutter the screen and the fetishistic fascination of Sono’s previous work is apparent, all wrapped up in an atypical...
- 12/29/2010
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
Castaway On The Moon
Directed by Hae-jun Lee
Being as it is a deserted island picture, you would think Castaway On The Moon would seem derivative of previous work – and while picking up on some influences from Robert Zemeckis’ Cast Away and Pen-ek Ratanaruang’s Last Life in the Universe, Castaway On The Moon offers something decidedly original: a deserted island story about a man who isn’t really deserted at all. Castaway On The Moon is a masterful piece of filmmaking – compelling, smart, and truly original but more importantly it manages to entertain while supplying observations on society, nature, determination, choice, isolation, friendships, ability and more… (read the full review)
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Directed by Hae-jun Lee
Being as it is a deserted island picture, you would think Castaway On The Moon would seem derivative of previous work – and while picking up on some influences from Robert Zemeckis’ Cast Away and Pen-ek Ratanaruang’s Last Life in the Universe, Castaway On The Moon offers something decidedly original: a deserted island story about a man who isn’t really deserted at all. Castaway On The Moon is a masterful piece of filmmaking – compelling, smart, and truly original but more importantly it manages to entertain while supplying observations on society, nature, determination, choice, isolation, friendships, ability and more… (read the full review)
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- 12/26/2010
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
Exciting news from the Pen-Ek Ratanaruang camp with word that his return to the noir tinged style where he first made his name is now in production and evidently looking good enough that it's already picked up distribution in France.
Titled Headshot we've got the first still from the picture above and here's the official sales announcement with additional details about the film:
Wild Side Goes For Ratanaruang's 'Headshot'
A return to the crime thriller genre by one of Thailand's most acclaimed directors
Bangkok, December 16th 2010 - Headshot, the latest project by renowned Thai director Pen-ek Ratanaruang (6IXTYNIN9, Last Life In The Universe, Ploy), has been acquired by distributor Wild Side for distribution in France. The film is currently in production.
Produced by Local Color Films, whose previous productions include Wisit Sasanatieng's Red Eagle and the omnibus Sawasdee Bangkok, Headshot is a modern film noir adapted from the novel...
Titled Headshot we've got the first still from the picture above and here's the official sales announcement with additional details about the film:
Wild Side Goes For Ratanaruang's 'Headshot'
A return to the crime thriller genre by one of Thailand's most acclaimed directors
Bangkok, December 16th 2010 - Headshot, the latest project by renowned Thai director Pen-ek Ratanaruang (6IXTYNIN9, Last Life In The Universe, Ploy), has been acquired by distributor Wild Side for distribution in France. The film is currently in production.
Produced by Local Color Films, whose previous productions include Wisit Sasanatieng's Red Eagle and the omnibus Sawasdee Bangkok, Headshot is a modern film noir adapted from the novel...
- 12/16/2010
- Screen Anarchy
Ever since Christopher Doyle jumped ship Ratanaruang (Invisible Waves, Last Life in the Universe) his popularity has been declining. Truth be told, his more recent films aren't as accessible as his earlier ones either. Ploy was excruciatingly slow, Nymph isn't much livelier. Not necessarily a bad thing though as Ratanaruang transforms Nymph into a slow yet creepy and atmospheric little horror-drama. Definitely not for everyone, but hardened Ratanaruang fans should definitely take notice.
The film's opening sequence is one that deserves some extra attention. A marvelous, long-winding tracking shot that actually fails to track the events happening on screen. It's a weird and mysterious introduction (not) following two guys running after a girl with obvious malicious intent in the middle of the woods. The camera sways and follows its own path while the action happens somewhere out of view, sometimes audible, sometimes completely eclipsed by the dense forest. The shot ends with the aftermath,...
The film's opening sequence is one that deserves some extra attention. A marvelous, long-winding tracking shot that actually fails to track the events happening on screen. It's a weird and mysterious introduction (not) following two guys running after a girl with obvious malicious intent in the middle of the woods. The camera sways and follows its own path while the action happens somewhere out of view, sometimes audible, sometimes completely eclipsed by the dense forest. The shot ends with the aftermath,...
- 11/15/2010
- Screen Anarchy
Much of the attention at Cannes this year went to one Thai filmmaker, next year's edition is most likely going to welcome the other Thai helmer (hint: Last Life in the Universe). Pen-ek Ratanaruang who last directed Nymph and more recently contributed to Sawasdee Bangkok, will according to Twitchfilm via (Wise Kwai) tackle a novel by award winning author Win Lyovarin which would move the director into a noir filled world about a hitman. - Much of the attention at Cannes this year went to one Thai filmmaker, next year's edition is most likely going to welcome the other Thai helmer (hint: Last Life in the Universe). Pen-ek Ratanaruang who last directed Nymph and more recently contributed to Sawasdee Bangkok, will according to Twitchfilm via (Wise Kwai) tackle a novel by award winning author Win Lyovarin which would move the director into a noir filled world about a hitman. Look...
- 6/28/2010
- IONCINEMA.com
Much of the attention at Cannes this year went to one Thai filmmaker, next year's edition is most likely going to welcome the other Thai helmer (hint: Last Life in the Universe). Pen-ek Ratanaruang who last directed Nymph and more recently contributed to Sawasdee Bangkok, will according to Twitchfilm via (Wise Kwai) tackle a novel by award winning author Win Lyovarin which would move the director into a noir filled world about a hitman. Look for Chankit Chamnivikaipong to lense the project -- which for practicability proposes goes by the translated title of Rain in Blue, is apparently set to begin filming next month. It this becomes fact, look for more info to break out in the following weeks ahead. Here's the book cover. ...
- 6/28/2010
- IONCINEMA.com
An added bonus of discovering Takashi Miike’s films on DVD is following the director’s progress through special-feature interviews, which are often as entertaining as the films themselves. A deadpan, musing presence, Miike is one of the great characters of recent home viewing. Though sounding more mature with each passing year (having come a long way from the interview conducted for the DVD of Audition [1999; interview 2000], in which he dressed up like a skater punk because “the youth of Japan have this game nowadays...where they beat up men on the street who look old; and so, I am trying to look younger”), Miike has retained the quality of sounding pleasantly adrift on the sea of filmmaking, coming to each project without prejudice and discovering cinema as he goes along. (Another memorable moment, when asked about the absurdist liberties he took with the purportedly realist Deadly Outlaw: Rekka [2002]: “It...
- 6/12/2010
- MUBI
People keep asking me about movies like The Joneses and La Mission, and I have to keep saying, "sorry... it's film festival time." Almost all other considerations are sidelined for two weeks while I dive into the list of 177 films being shown at the 53rd San Francisco International Film Festival. (It's still the oldest festival in the Western hemisphere, apparently.) This year I went to the big opening night festivities and saw Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Micmacs, with the director in attendance. It was my second time seeing it, and it holds up; it seems less lightweight and disposable. Jeunuet was just as entertaining, with hilarious, self-effacing stories from the frontlines of filmmaking. When I last interviewed him, he spoke French and had a translator, and was not nearly as funny.
As a die-hard Jacques Rivette fan, I was a bit disappointed with Around a Small Mountain, not so much because of the content,...
As a die-hard Jacques Rivette fan, I was a bit disappointed with Around a Small Mountain, not so much because of the content,...
- 5/2/2010
- by Jeffrey M. Anderson
- Cinematical
HONG KONG -- The second Hong Kong Asian Film Financing Forum has announced 28 projects, including some from a number of established directors from around the Asian region, as part of the Entertainment Expo to take place March 22-April 6. Among the directors who will be presenting projects at HAF, which will be held concurrently with the FILMART programming trade show (March 22-26), are Thai director Pen-ek Ratanaruang (Last Life in the Universe), Hong Kong's Ann Hui (Summer Snow) and Lo Chi-leung (Inner Senses), and Mainland Chinese directors Lu Chuan, who recently won Taiwan's Golden Horse Award for Kekexili: Mountain Patrol, and Jiang Wen (Devil at My Doorstep).
- 1/21/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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