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apiratii
Reviews
Uôtâzu (2006)
It is a movie about how memories are probably worth more than money.
I like the movie though the storyline is not that credible or reasonable but the casts are fine. The guy who starred Naoto was very cute. All the girls in the movie were beautiful.It's the kind of movie that you can watch until the end without getting bored. But it's a bit Japanese style so probably it's not that much internationally entertaining. Some scene was funny like when the boys were doing the funny and stupid dance for the champagne tower order. Also, the movie is kinda trying to tell you that sometimes memories are more valuable than money, no matter how short they are. Coz it seems that in the final scene what everyone had left was just the memory.
The Cave (2005)
Not so much as a horror than an adventure movie. A group of cavers encountered some strange monsters while trying to find their way out of the cave.
Well..as I am not a fan of American action or horror films and the blockbuster movies my boyfriend has rented home lately make me bored. This one I found unique and fascinating. It had interesting and creative story,especially about the part of human mutation into some kind of cave-limited creature. I like the film color and the fact that most of the film took place in the dark winding cave. I also liked the way that it did not focus on the action part or the horror part too much and there was no typical American hero or heroine in the film. Otherwise,the movie must be similar to Aliens Vs. Predators that moved from the South Pole to the Carpathians.
The cave was wonderful and the atmosphere of the film created the feeling of strange loneliness and the way the characters interacted just fit with the atmosphere. The actors and actresses did not get too emotional, sentimental or overacting and they looked like a group of calm and professional colleagues who concealed their own feelings within their personal spaces and therefore, they looked realistic to me.
The most touching part was that the elder brother, Jack, was always protective over his younger brother, Tyler. It reminded me of Korean's movie,'Tae Guk Gi'. Only this one is the western version.The elder brother seemed to be unpleasant for his younger one at first but when the story developed, Tyler was worried about his brother's condition and choose to be on his brother's side and Jack finally sacrificed his life for him at the end.
I also like the design of the cave creatures,especially the winged monsters. They didn't look too creepy and scary like Aliens or Predators or other Hollywood's created skin-pricking monsters.The way it was designed made it looked like the real animal which could have been in some cave. This imaginative design gave us an idea of what human-beings would be like if we were trogobites (cave-limited creature).
The ending was also unexpected and was a good way to end the story.
I don't understand the harsh criticisms for this movie. I think this movie is just an alternative to some people who may not enjoy the other movies in the same genre.
Jom kha mung wej (2005)
Two cops corrupted by dark art practicing rival against each other and destroy their lives.
Well
I find this movie a great one. My friend and I enjoy it very much. We watched it twice. The movie revolves around the primitive Khmer ( or the Thai version of Khmer) black magic. It needs some cultural background and concept to understand the use of this magic. The dark art was commonly practiced in Thailand in the past. But those two cops try to learn and use such art in modern days. So the only way they can learn and posses the power of this art is to steal the existing dark-art associated items from others because such art did not get written in any specific manuscript or taught in any school or appeared on any historical sites but secretly passed down from generation to generation. So each family has a limited share of knowledge on this dark art. (Such art starts to be forgotten and less practice in modern-day Thai society.) However, I think foreigners may have some difficulties understanding the story and its tension. Thai people, told by their parents, generally accept the idea that such dark art exists and have common knowledge on some practices shown in the movie. So normally the Thais don't have any difficulties in understanding the context or feeling the intangible fear mounting in the movie. For example, the prison guards know that Itti posses the black magic and get very frightened (because they know what Itti is capable of doing.) I also wonder if any foreigner will understand the scene at a Pan-Yak prayer ceremony and its significant. ( It's the scene when Itti walked up to the monk and put his hand on a boy's head.) The magic buffalo and the nail appeared in the movie are common black magic used for people- killing purpose and every Thai know it by heart. If this movie is going to be viewed internationally, it may need to get a new cut with some introduction on the use of those black magic tricks and its regulation. Also, another cultural notion of the black magic in the movie is normally those who practice such black magic are those who have enemies. They either practice it to protect themselves or hurt others. This kind of black magic has two sides, beneficial or harmful to those who use it. So whoever practices it will need to strictly follow the regulation, like refraining from doing so many common things or eating only some specific kind of food. In the movie, Santi will have to stop eating squash that he likes. So only those who have enemies and must hurt others will sacrifice their normal lives and live by these special rules. They are in a way like 'The Highlanders'. Only the people of their kind can be their equals.
I like this movie because it's a cultural specific movie. If you understand the idea or have some cultural background knowledge, you will enjoy the movie. Also, I find it educational on the Thai black magic, which has its origin from ancient Khmer. Few people are practicing it these days. I think more practice of this black art can be found in another two Thai horrors: Art of the Devil (Khon Len Khong ) and Art of the Devil II (Long Khong). Some foreign comments on both movies called the dark art 'voo doo'. It's certainly not the African 'voo doo', of course! Thai has its own black magic. We call it "Khong" - directly translated as the "Thing". "Khon Len Khong" (Art of the Devil) can be directly translated as the "Thing" player ( or The practitioner of the "Thing"). In this movie, the "Thing" player is translated to be the "Necromancer" as the English title. "Long Khong" ( Art of the Devil II) is directly translated as Daring or Challenging the "Thing".