My Cow Jai Posted February 10, 2003 Report Share Posted February 10, 2003 Didn't know where to post this, so I put it here. There is a totally kick-arse Thai film out called Ong Bak. I highly recommend it - I enjoyed it so much that I got out of the cinema and went straight back in to watch it again. It's about a BaaNok Issan lad who goes to Bkk to kick ass after the village Buddah is stolen by Bkk gangsters. It has great scenes of village and Bkk life combined with some of the best martial arts and athletics Ñyou will see - no CGI or wires at all. Street fighting in Bkk, Tuk-Tuk chases, fighting farangs in the Khao San clubs, stereotypical Issan villages etc etc Most of the film is in Thai and Issan/Lao, with a couple of scenes in English, but all of the film has subtitles. If you want to brush up on your swearing in Thai/Lao this is a good place to start! Highly recommended - a superb and very cool film. :: Here's a link to a review I just found... http://www.aint-it-cool-news.com/display.cgi?id=14364 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khunsanuk Posted February 10, 2003 Report Share Posted February 10, 2003 Hi, Have heard the same comments from many people and would like to see it myself. One of my friends (and a very occassionaly poster on this board) played as an extra in one of the fight scenes. He's just a spectator though Sanuk! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thai3 Posted February 10, 2003 Report Share Posted February 10, 2003 KS Was this someone who could do with shedding a few pounds?-peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khunsanuk Posted February 10, 2003 Report Share Posted February 10, 2003 Hi, If with 'a few pounds' you mean like a hunderd or so, then yes, the same. He's actually been in quite a few movies (mostly TV) and some commercials. Sanuk! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brink15 Posted February 11, 2003 Report Share Posted February 11, 2003 Does anyone know if it is out on VCD? I know sometimes movies mysteriously appear on disk at about the same time they're in the theaters. I'd really like to see this one if I can get one of my in-laws to send it over. ps. Really like the location stuff on your user info, very funny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gobbledonk Posted February 11, 2003 Report Share Posted February 11, 2003 MCJ, The review certainly makes it sound like a must-see. I admit, as someone who was totally hooked on martial arts movies during the Bruce Lee era in the 70's, it has all become a bit passe. Now, every Buffy episode has hordes of high-kicking vampires, and its impossible to cast a 'hero' role without the obligatory martial arts scenes. Any dancer/model who can throw her leg into the air is transformed into an 'ass-kicking momma'. Anyone who has actually tried to make contact with another human being who is equally mortivated knows that its not that simple ... Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was a great fantasy, but the fight scenes were more exercises in choreography than anything else. Films like Romper Stomper and Once Were Warriors had the kind of gritty reality that most filmmakers wont risk unleashing on their audiences : it sounds like the makers of Ong Bak had no such qualms. I expect I'll have to go to one of the Chinese or Vietnamese video stores to find this gem - its vacant stares down at Blockbuster when you ask them for Snow Falling on Cedars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brink15 Posted February 11, 2003 Report Share Posted February 11, 2003 Artie, I feel the same way with one exception, Jet Li. I really like this guy. He has that same kind of on screen charisma that Bruce Lee possessed. Although it's doubtful anyone on screen could attain Bruce's level of conditioning or skill. My wife likes Jackie Chan and although I think the level of stunts he does himself are impressive, I just don't care for his movies. To me he is sort of Buster Keaton with a kung-fu grip. Very skilled both as a martial artist and slap stick comedian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gobbledonk Posted February 11, 2003 Report Share Posted February 11, 2003 Brink, A lot of the Hongkies I've worked with over the years also rave about Mr Li, but I've yet to see him in anything that really captured my imagination. Brooding - perhaps, but he doesnt seem to have Lee's sense of humour. I've always regarded Jackie Chan as a bit of a joke, but I've read reports from very credible martial artists who have worked on movies with him that he is very capable physically. Chan has always portrayed himself as more clown than brawler, which is a welcome relief from some of the hype surrounding guys like Jean-Claude Van Damme. There have been a few attempts by martial artists with no acting background to get into films (Van Damme is actually one of the successes..), but with pretty ordinary results. Benny Urquidez and Richard Norton still crop up in the odd midday or late-night movie, and I remember seeing a very famous British karate instructor in one of the late-80's epics : great action, but their acting was dismal. Makes you realise that Keanu Reeves' effort in The Matrix was actually pretty damn good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
My Cow Jai Posted February 11, 2003 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2003 Artiew and Brink, I have been told the VCD/DVD won't be out for another two months. It certainly is quite a gritty film in places with some pretty brutal oldstyle Muay Thai. Also, it is interspersed with some good comedy moments. Parts of the film reminds me of Guy Ritchie's Snatch and Lock-Stock films the way it is directed, which also has some modern London-like breakbeats with Thai music over the top - interesting fusion. While good for the health of fighters, the imposition of the Queensberry Boxing rules (gloves, 3 min rounds etc) has detracted from excitment of what MT was all about. If anyone is interested in the old style, more brutal Muay Thai you cannot see at at Lumphini or Ratchadamnoen, see this film. Also for those interested in what you cannot see at Lumphini or Ratchadamnoen, the upcoming Mae Sot Gem Festival in April, on the border, has the annual Burma vs Thailand Rope Fights where they fight gloves off, hands bound in hemp, old style 'til knockout - tense, bloody, brutal stuff with much pride at stake given the old Burma-Thailand rivalry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brink15 Posted February 11, 2003 Report Share Posted February 11, 2003 MCJ, Thanks for the info. I'll have to check with the in-laws in three months to see if they can get me a copy. I saw Snatch and liked it. I've been a Muay Thai fan since about 85' so I'm sure I'll love this flick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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