What's in theater this week!
007 Quantum of Solace. (USA). Daniel Craig returns as the seductive secret agent with a license to kill in the 22nd film in the James Bond franchise. Picking up almost immediately where Casino Royale left off, Bond seeks revenge for the death of his lover, Vesper Lynd, while setting out to unravel the scheme of evil organization, Quantum.
20th Century Boys. (Japan). In this live-action adaptation of Naoki Urasawa’s sci-fi manga, a convenience store clerk discovers that the mysterious events that he and his friends predicted as children are now becoming a chain of real life incidents and deaths.
Beverly Hills Chihuahua. (USA). The hit family flick follows Chloe (voiced by Drew Barrymore), a khun nuu Chihuahua, as she struggles to escape the clutches of a dognapper looking for ransom from her owners.
PICK> Burn After Reading. (USA). The Coen Brothers follow up their Oscar-winning No Country For Old Men with this star-studded screwball comedy. Brad Pitt plays a buffoonish fitness trainer who stumbles upon a CD containing classified CIA information sparking off a crazy chain of events. Also starring George Clooney, Frances Louise McDormand and John Malkovich. At Paragon Cineplex and Apex.
Coming Soon. (Thailand). Shen, a movie theater worker, arranges a private “sneak preview” of an upcoming ghost film for his friend. The next day, he discovers he’s now living the movie.
PICK> Elegy. (USA). In this provocative adaptation of Philip Roth’s novel, The Dying Animal, Ben Kingsley delivers a refined performance as a professor whose philandering lifestyle is turned upside down when he starts a relationship with his student (Penelope Cruz). At Apex.
The House Bunny. (USA). Despite the dubious plot, Anna Faris (Scary Movie) manages to shine in this bubblegum comedy as Shelley, a cheery Playboy bunny. Evicted from Hugh Hefner’s mansion, Shelley ends up in a sorority house coaching nerdy social outcasts on how to unleash their inner bunny.
Into the Far Away Sky. (Japan). This sentimental drama centers on the friendship between three teenagers set against the backdrop of a protest over the construction of a new airport. At House and Lido.
Kids. (Japan). It seems that naïve Asato (Teppei Koike) has nothing in common with harsh troublemaker Takeo (Hiroshi Tamaki). But the two lonely souls drift together and start an unlikely friendship. At House and Lido.
Sex Drive. (USA). In this raunchy comedy, a virgin high school boy drives across the country to hook up with a girl he meets online.
PICK> Teeth. (USA). Mitchell Lichtenstein’s audacious black comedy stars rosy-cheeked newcomer Jess Weixler as a goody two shoes whose teethed vagina attacks every unscrupulous man looking to take advantage.
PICK> Tokyo Sonata. (Japan). Japanese chiller director Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Kairo, Retribution) strays from the J-horror genre and ventures into family drama. A low-key and poignant reflection on modern-day Japanese society, the film follows a family as they slowly fall apart after the bread-winning father loses his job. At House and Lido.
Traitor. (USA). Don Cheadle’s (Hotel Rwanda) admirable performance is the best thing about this head-scratching tangle of confused plotlines. He plays an estranged ex-military operative who becomes involved with a web of terrorist organizations.
PICK> Twilight. (USA). After portraying the tragically fated Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Robert Pattinson now takes on the role of Edward the Vampire. In the adaptation of Stephanie Meyer’s best-selling novel, the heartthrob vampire has to protect his mortal darling from his kin.
free screenings
FREE> Pridi Banomyong Inst. Michael J. Fox’s fans, here’s your chance to catch the Back to the Future trilogy back-to-back. Dec 6. Back to the Future, noon; Back to the Future Part 2, 2pm; Back to the Future Part 3: 4pm. Dec 7. The New World: Terrence Malick’s interpretation of Pocahontas, starring Colin Farrell as Captain John Smith and Q’Orianka Kilcher as the native Indian princess, noon; Akeelah and the Bee: A young girl tries to make it to the national Spelling Bee contest, 2:20pm; The World’s Fastest Indian: Anthony Hopkins plays legendary New Zealand bike racer Burt Munro, 4:05pm. l 65/3 Soi Thonglor, 02-381-3860/1, www.pridiinstitute.com.
European Union film fest
The European Union Film Festival still runs until Dec 7 at the SF World Cinema (7/F, CentralWorld, Ratchadamri Rd., 02-268-8888. www.sfcinemacity.com). Catch All Will Be Well (Dec 6, 4:30pm), a heartwarming Polish drama about a 12-year-old boy who vows to help his ailing mother by making a pilgrimage to the Sanctuary of Jasna Gora, and Control (Dec 6, 6:30pm), Anton Corbijn’s beautifully-shot black and white biopic of Joy Division’s troubled frontman Ian Curtis (played by Sam Riley)—see review. Tickets are B100. For more information, visit www.deltha.ec.europa.eu/filmfestival2008.
