Month: October 2021

IMDB link
Running time: 1h 45min
Directed by Prachya Pinkaew
Written by Panna Rittikrai (story), Prachya Pinkaew (story), Suphachai Sittiaumponpan (screenplay)
Starring Tony Jaa, Petchtai Wongkamlao, Pumwaree Yodkamol

The head of a sacred Buddha statue gets stolen from a rural village in Thailand, and it is up to local country boy/martial arts practitioner Ting (Tony Jaa) to return it by any means necessary. This quest leads him to the big corrupt city, and, of course, to a series of martial arts fights where he must reluctantly bash his opponents in order to eventually, maybe, have a chance of recovering the holy artifact from the evil criminals who took it. Ong-Bak good for what it is; a stunt/martial arts choreography showcase of Tony Jaa in the guise of a feature film.

IMDB link
Running time: 1h 31min
Directed by John Carpenter
Written by John Carpenter
Starring Austin Stoker, Darwin Joston, Laurie Zimmer

Assault on Precinct 13 is John Carpenter’s (who is known especially for Halloween (1978), Escape from New York (1981), The Thing (1982), Big Trouble in Little China (1986)) second feature film. I have seen AoP13 twice now, and while I do think its cult film status is perfectly understandable, I am ambivalent about the film. While there are aspects of AoP13 that deserve praise, especially considering budgetary limitations, it is not consistent in quality – certainly a film of interest given its director, but one which would perhaps otherwise been forgotten.

IMDB link
Running time: 1h 24min
Directed by Darren Aronofsky
Written by Darren Aronofsky (story), Sean Gullette (story), Eric Watson (story)
Starring Sean Gullette, Mark Margolis, Ben Shenkman

Darren Aronofsky’s films are generally not casual viewing – his first film, Pi (1998) sets the stage for his career in this regard with its psychotic tone and artistic choices. Pi is a movie which cannot be recommended for everyone, but it is well worth viewing for those interested in psychological thrillers and/or Aronofsky films. The plot of the movie could be summed as thusly: Jewish mathematician Max Cohen (Sean Gullette) discovers a number sequence that unlocks the secrets of the universe while battling with his inner demons. He must also avoid those seeking to steal the sequence and try to distinguish friend from foe. Crazy, right?