Thai Ghost Movies - Shutter and Nang Nak

Watched two tremendously good Thai ghost movies this weekend. I never before realised just how good Thai films could be. These were a revelation, not only in their technical prowess (which was second to none) but also in the depth and sincerity of their story-telling.

Shutter is the more modern of the two, and is a tale of ghostly revenge, though not the one you may initially think it is going to be about. It also has one of the most chilling photos I have ever seen in a film.

Nang Nak is set in the recent past and is based on a Thai legend about a devoted and faithful wife who, even after her death, waits for the return of her husband from the war. It is chillingly beautiful with a unique sadness.

Green Lantern movie

I remember when DC started the Green Lantern comics in the 1960s. I once had a complete collection of them, till I finally decuided to give up getting comics (big mistake) and got rid of them (even bigger mistake!)

Anyway, Green Lantern has finally made it to the big screen. Looks good too.

Iron Man 2

Went last night with my son Dharamn to watch Iron Man 2. I've been looking forward to this for months - ever since watching trailers for it - and must say I wasn't at all disappointed. Robert Downey Jnr was again superb as Tony Stark. I can't imagine anyone being able to play that role to such perfection. Michael Rourke was a brilliant and menacing villain. And there was enough action to satisfy anyone. I also liked how they blended it all in with another story arc that has been going on in a few other Marvel films - and especially the clip at the very end for those who were dedicated enough to sit through the credits to catch it.

The humour in this film - as in the first Iron Man movie - works very well, thanks to Downey, who can make his character arrogant, irreverent and likeable at one and the same time. No mean feat. The special effects were excellent, and the story kept moving at a good pace, with no dull moments. And there were plenty of other interesting characters in the cast as well as the main ones.

I was always a fan of the original Iron Man comics years and years ago. In fact, I can remember when he first started as a very much different Iron Man in a dull grey, tubular iron suit, almost like a metal version of the Thing. It was a big move when he went from this to a yellow one, never mind the much more sophistifcated red and yellow one he was to get much later. Those were the days when American comics cost 6d - then 9d - in the UK and were shipped over in weekly batches as ballast, when they were available in every normal backstreet newsagents (I used to call them papershops then) and any kid could afford them.

Recommended.

And good to see another packed cinema too.

Harry Brown

Watched the new Michael Caine movie Harry Brown last night on DVD. A grim look at modern Britain in a slum-like deck access estate in London, terrorised by drugs gangs. An absolutely brilliant film, with Michael Caine on top form. Even when portraying an underplayed character, an ageing ex-marine whose wife dies from old age near the start of the film, Caine outperforms everyone else.

An interesting comparison between the ineffectual efforts of the police in the film to deal with the violence and criminality on the estate and Caine's reluctant vigilante. A fascinating argument for homeowners to be able and allowed to defend their own property and themselves against the kinds of mindless, gun-toting or knife-wielding thugs that have blemished so many parts of the UK in recent years, especially since, curiously enough, the ability to own handguns legally was ended. The nonsense of the present laws concerning this was highlighted when a young man had to face a police-instigated prosecution for murder because he killed one of two burglars he caught in his mother's home - even though he had already been attacked by one of the two with a knife. And all based on the "testimony" of the scrote who escaped and told lies about what happened. Lies which the police were prepared to believe right up till the last minute (because, of course, you have to believe a fourteen-year-old burglar), when charges were finally dropped. Sometimes I despair about our police. In fact, let's be honest - most times I despair about our police, certainly those in charge of them. Though what can you expect when senior police officers have become so politicised in recent years?

Back to the movie: well worth watching if only for Michael Caine's performance. But it also has a well-written script and some scenes (especially the one in the drug-dealers' den that Caine visits for a gun) would not be out of place in a horror film. Gritty, dark, grimly unromanticised. I enjoyed it.

Clash of the Titans

I'm supposed to be going to the cinema tonight with Dharamn to watch Clash of the Titans. Unfortunately, I've been told it's not very good. Checked a couple of online reviews which seem to back this up. Supposedly the trailer contains all the good bits in the movie. Now I don't know whether to go or not. The trouble is, I have seen films that were panned like this before and found them very, very good. On the other hand, I already had a few doubts about this film...

Went.

And I'm glad that I did. Maybe not the best film ever - there aren't many of them! - but it was a good enjoyable romp with some stunning effects and plenty of action. This is the first 3D movie (of the recent ones) I've seen, as I missed Avatar. Well impressed with it. Not as good as last week's Kick Ass, but certainly better than the reviews I read led me to expect.

It was also good to see so many people at the cinema. The place was packed.

Kick Ass

Went with my son, Dharamn, on Friday to watch Kick Ass at the local cinema. My wife didn't fancy this - I think the first Hulk movie put her off superhero films - but we had already seen the trailer for Kick Ass when we went to see the disappointing The Wolfman a few weeks ago.

I was half dreading the trailer contained every single good bit from the film but, thankfully, I was wrong. Dead wrong. Kick Ass is one of the funniest, most violent and action-packed superhero spoofs I've ever seen - and a highly entertaining film in its own right. Chloe Moretz as the twelve-year old Hit Girl steals the film, of course. She is truly amazing. And, controversial though some of the language she uses has been, in the context of the movie this made me laugh out loud. Which isn't to say the rest of the cast aren't good too. They are. Including Nicholas Cage as the Batman fixated Big Daddy. Some neat twists in the plot too, which never seems to falter, escalating ever more into further extremes of violence and action. Highly recommended. And one of the few new films I've seen recently I would actually look forward to getting on DVD.

And for anyone who still hasn't seen anything of Kick Ass, here's a trailer on Youtube:

Kick Ass

Liked what we saw of the new Ironman movie on the trailers too.