Samchuk (สามชุก)

Veteran director Thanit Jitnukul's latest work is a rare socially conscious drama for the Thai film industry. It's called Samchuk (สามชุก) and is produced by Pacific Island Film with the blessing of the Ministry of Culture.

Based on a true story, it's about seven teenage schoolboys who turn to drug use in their rural district of Samchuk. A teacher is concerned about the problem and comes up with a way of giving the boys a chance to prove themselves.

The English title was to be Once in a Chance, but I believe that has been dropped, either because it was too cheesy pie or just simply didn't make sense. Thank goodness. Samchuk, also the name of a famous market, works as an English title too.

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

Yet another toy line comes to the big screen in the service of military propaganda. In G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra,  the Hasbro action figures are played by actors Channing Tatum, Marlon Wayans, Dennis Quaid and others. They are up against a bunch of evil assassins, led by a catsuit-clad Sienna Miller. Joseph Gordon-Levitt fits in there somewhere as well.

Movie critics have their undies in a bundle over this movie because it wasn't shown to them before its release this week. Paramount Pictures explained it didn't want a repeat of the kind of "disparity" experienced by Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, which despite a critical thrashing went on to become one of the biggest blockbusters of all time. Stifling the critics and aiming straight for the jugular with special screenings for audiences outside of LA and New York and on military bases, Paramount is marketing Joe as a "big, fun, summer event movie".

But on Twitter, word is already out that G.I. Joe "was crap". What's next for Paramount? Ban audience members from using Twitter after they see a movie?

Also opening

Killshot -- Diane Lane and Thomas Jane are a couple in the witness protection program who get mixed up with a con artist (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, surely better here than in G.I. Joe) and his hitman partner (Mickey Rourke). John Madden directs this gritty-looking tale, adapted from an Elmore Leonard novel. Rosario Dawson also stars. At Paragon Cineplex.

Solstice -- Daniel Myrick, co-director of The Blair Witch Project, directs this summer-vacation horror thriller about a young woman (Elisabeth Harnois) who is haunted by the spirit her twin sister who committed suicide. This movie went direct to video in the States.

Love Aaj Kal -- Parallel love stories play out in the 1960s and the present day, both confronting the complexities of long-distance romance. Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone and Brazilian model Giselle Monteiro star. Bollywood Thai is bring this in on the same weekend it premieres in India. Enjoy! It's in Hindi with English subtitles at 8 on Friday and Saturday and 4 on Sunday at Major Cineplex Rama III, 8 on Sunday at Major Sukhumvit and at 8 Monday to Wednesday at Grand EGV Siam Discovery. Call (089) 488 2620 or visit www.BollywoodThai.com.

Also showing

Lae Nang ... Long Tai -- 10 movies set in southern Thailand, from the 1960s to last year, are being shown at Paragon Cineplex from Friday to Sunday. Highlights include 1985's Butterfly and Flowers, Nonzee Nimibutr's OK Baytong, Pen-ek Ratanaruang's Invisible Waves and Aditya Assarat's romantic drama Wonderful Town. Check my earlier blog post for the full schedule.

Death in the Land of Melancholia: Lav Diaz Retrospective in Thailand -- Filipino indie director Lav Diaz persevered over the course of 11 years to make his 11-hour drama Evolution of a Filipino Family. Cast members dropped out, aged and died, yet Diaz completed his film. It's screening at 10am on Saturday. At noon on Sunday, it's the nine-hour road journey, Heremias Book I, about a man witnessing the moral decay of society. Both are at the Conference of Birds Gallery on Pan Road, where you’ll need to bring pillows, because the tiny gallery has no seating. At 10am on Monday, the show moves to the Film Archive in Salaya, Nakhon Pathom with the smashing 7.5-hour drama on identity and grief, Melancholia. Check my earlier blog post for the rest of the schedule.

Chulalongkorn University International Film Festival --  Six acclaimed recent movies will be shown from August 10 to 28 in this series organized by Chula's Department of Dramatic Arts in the Faculty of Arts. It opens with the Chinese comedy Mad about English. Others are the animated Israeli war drama Waltz with Bashir, the South Korean horror Hansel and Gretel, the quirky Swedish comedy You, the Living, Turkey’s Time and Winds and I’ve Loved You So Long from France. The movies will be on DVD with English subtitles and will be followed by a panel discussion by critics Kittisak Suvannapokhin, Nopamat Veohong and Kong Rithdee. Showtimes are at 5 on Monday and Friday in Chula’s Boromrajakumari Building, room 503. Admission is free. Call (02) 218 4802 or visit ChulaFilmFest.multiply.com. I'll put up a post with more details later tonight or tomorrow.

Water Drops of Life -- 11 filmmakers and artists of various backgrounds have joined together for this short-film project, which is made in observance of the 30th anniversary of the Royal Development Centre. It premieres at 2pm on Monday, August 10 at Grand EGV Siam Discovery. I had more about it in an earlier blog post.

Opening next week

There is a lot happening this week, with all kinds of special screenings, retrospectives and festivals, and the movie-going calendar is just going to keep getting busier.

New releases will be out on Wednesday next week. That's August 12 -- Her Majesty the Queen's birthday and Mother's Day, a big holiday.

Major film releases include the new action movie from Chocolate star Jija (really Jeeja) Yanin, Jija Du Suay Dua (Raging Phoenix). There' also  Eesom Somwang Cha Cha Chaa  (In Country and Melody 2) from the cornpone yuksters at Phranakorn Film, and the Hollywood release, Land of the Lost starring Will Ferrell.

Limited releases include the wide-ranging documentary on violence in southern Thailand, Citizen Juling (Polamung Juling) at House, the cute Disney-Chinese co-production Trail of the Panda at SFW CentralWorld, and Thai director Ekachai Uekrongtham's Singaporean romantic comedy The Wedding Game at the Lido.

And, whether you're ready for it or not, Thailand's film-festival season gets into full swing next week with the 13th Thai Short Film & Video Festival, which has filled out its competition program.  It runs from August 13 to 23 at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre.