Hogwarts students fight “He Who Must Not Be Named”!
Pattaya movies beginning Thursday, July 16, 2009
… through Wednesday, July 22
by Thomas Ohlson
Best Bets: Harry Potter. The International.
It’s here, and you’re sure to see it, so get your tickets now! Harry Potter, of course!
Here is the 100th edition of my weekly compilations of movie times and comments for Pattaya! And the 13th online edition!
Unlike my Chiang Mai website (http://thomatfilms.blogspot.com), I am not going to attempt to keep the Pattaya movie times up to date on this blog. Times will generally be given once a week, on Thursdays. (But there’s a special Friday update this week!) After that, you will need to use the links for the websites of the theaters, or call using the phone numbers given. (But it's probably best to just go look – and even then, I suggest you be prepared for disappointment and frustration!) You can use my website as a fairly accurate guide as to what’s playing, but only a rough guide as to the times.
Here are my comments on the movies playing in Pattaya for the week beginning Thursday, July 16, at Pattaya Major Cineplex (at Villa Supermarket Center), at the SF Multiplex at Central Plaza (Big C), and at the spanking new SFX Cinema Pattaya Beach on the 6th Floor of Central Festival Pattaya Beach, the new huge and beautiful mall located between Sois 9 and 10 and running the length of the soi from Beach Road to 2nd Road.
Programs are scheduled to change next Thursday, July 23.
Now playing in Pattaya * = new this week
* Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: US/ UK, Adventure/ Fantasy/ Mystery/ Romance – 153 mins – The latest and darkest Harry Potter episode, the Sixth. Will it be the blockbuster the movie folk expect it to be? Will it thrill us all? Early viewers say yes! But you must go see for yourself! You know you will see it, sooner or later, don’t you? Generally favorable reviews: 80/76 out of 100.
As Harry Potter begins his 6th year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, he discovers an old book marked mysteriously "This book is the property of the Half-Blood Prince" and begins to learn more about the dark past of He Who Must Not Be Named.
The Rotten Tomatoes consensus: “Dark, thrilling, and occasionally quite funny, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is also visually stunning and emotionally satisfying.”
They are also saying that it’s a dazzlingly well-made film as Voldemort (… oops! There I go again, naming him!) tightens his grip on both the Muggle and wizarding worlds, and Hogwarts is no longer the safe haven it once was. Indeed, the story heads for one major character's death at the end of Part Six, in preparation for the final awful confrontation between Harry and archfiend Voldemort in the climactic "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," now being shot as a two-part film, to be released November 2010 and July 2011. This should be the last of the series, as it’s the last of the books on which the series is based, but the author of the books, J.K. Rowling, and the studio both say, “Never say never.”
The series of Harry Potter books by British author J.K. Rowling has really turned into a phenomenon! “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” is the sixth book in the series; the first book in the series, “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” was first published in 1997 with an initial print-run of 500 copies in hardback, three hundred of which were distributed to libraries. Two hundred copies! But at the time the book of this film was published, July 16, 2005, the book sold nine million copies in just the first 24 hours after its release. Nine million!
And this record was beaten by the performance of the next and last book “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” published just two years ago, and which sold 11 million copies within 24 hours of its release: 2.7 million copies in the UK and 8.3 million in the US.
Yes, quite a phenomenon. The current film and book is set during Harry Potter's sixth year at Hogwarts, and explores Lord Voldemort's past, and Harry's preparations for the final battle amidst emerging romantic relationships and the emotional confusions and conflict resolutions characteristic of mid-adolescence.
Indeed, on this last point, I find that one of the most interesting aspects in the "Harry Potter" movie series has been the watching of the three main cast members — Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson — as they grow up: very literally age from children into adults. For years now, we've seen their slow and often graceless shift into puberty. Early glimmerings of romance were present in the previous film, but here the stirrings return in full force as Harry pairs up with Ginny Weasley, and Ron, after some fumbling due to ignorance, embraces his long-foreshadowed connection with Hermione.
And don’t overlook some of the other developing personalities, especially in this film Draco Malfoy, played by Tom Felton, who really comes into his own in this episode as he attempts to fulfill his destiny of evil. The actor, whose hair is actually brown and who has to continually bleach it for these films, originally tried out for the part of Harry, but is very happy with the way things worked out, as he enjoys exploring the evil in his character.
MTV Movies: Five years after Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy first set foot in Diagon Alley to buy their school supplies, the gray-eyed villain of his class has come a long way. Though he may not be using nearly as much hair gel as he did in his first year, the son from a wealthy, traditionally Slytherin family comes back to school in "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" with a harder heart and a burden mounted with destiny and anger following the events of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix."
When Draco first enrolled at Hogwart's, he had already inherited father Lucius' frighteningly blond hair and racist disregard for "Mudblood" children such as Hermione Granger, who was born to non-magical parents. The Sorting Hat unsurprisingly placed Draco in Slytherin House, where he would go on to cultivate his jealous rage toward Harry, whom he envied for snagging an early spot on Gryffindor's Quidditch team. Still too young and inexperienced to join his house's team or pose any threat as a full-fledged Death Eater, Draco didn't waste any time earning the allegiance of his Slytherin henchmen Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle or establishing himself as an enemy of Harry, Hermione, and Ron Weasley.
Though Tom Felton has been quoted as saying he originally wanted the role of Harry Potter, he claimed Draco Malfoy as his own from the first time he bleached his hair for "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone." The musically inclined actor already had a foothold in sizable parts from 1997's "The Borrowers" and the 1999's "Anna and the King." When Felton eventually found out that he had been offered the part of Draco, he reportedly hadn't read any of J.K. Rowling's books.
If Draco's dark destiny was faintly evident in "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," the true weight of his evil responsibilities now appears to be a fully illuminated path in "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince." Lucius Malfoy [his father] was defeated during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries in "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," implying that not only is Draco's father now a prisoner in Azkaban; there is now a hole to be filled in the ranks of Lord Voldemort's Death Eaters. As Voldemort's ultimate plan unfolds, Draco is charged with the duty of fulfilling his ominous potential in his sixth year at Hogwart's.
The long-ago picture way above is of the hero and anti-hero from their first picture, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. And next is a more recent picture of the now very much grown up Daniel Radcliffe in love with a horse, naked on both sides of the Atlantic, in the Tony-award-winning stage play, Equus in London and New York. (Please note: This is not a scene from the movie!!)
At any rate, get prepared for a grand and exciting ride. As dear Albus Dumbledore says, “In my life I have seen things that are truly horrific. Now I know you will see worse.”
Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs: US, Animation/ Action/ Adventure/ Comedy/ Family/ Romance – 94 mins – Manny, Sid, Diego, and Ellie are back in this third film in the computer-animated Ice Age series. With those creatures in starring roles, we hear again the vocal talents of Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, and Queen Latifah – and newcomer Simon Pegg, as a crazed weasel. In this outing, Manny and Ellie are expecting their first baby, while Sid the sloth tries an unconventional way of starting a family that gets him into trouble. With all this talk of babies, Diego is fearful of losing his saber-toothed edge, but a journey to save Sid may just turn the whole group into heroes. In addition to all that adventure, it wouldn’t be an Ice Age film if Scrat weren’t on a desperate hunt for an acorn – but gets distracted by a shapely female squirrel. Mixed or average reviews: 52/53 out of 100.
Brian Orndorf: Certainly a familiar cocktail of cartoon accomplishments and luxurious CG vistas, but a cozy one, confident with its brand of humor. The simplicity is refreshing, opening the film up to hundreds of smaller pleasures and laughs.
Roger Ebert: Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs is the best of the three films about our friends in the inter-species herd of plucky prehistoric heroes.
The International: US/ Germany/ UK, Crime/ Thriller – 118 mins – With Clive Owen and Naomi Watts. An Interpol agent attempts to expose a high-profile financial institution's role in an international arms dealing ring. In this gripping thriller Interpol Agent Louis Salinger (Clive Owen) and Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Eleanor Whitman (Naomi Watts) are determined to bring to justice one of the world's most powerful banks. Uncovering myriad and reprehensible illegal activities, Salinger and Whitman follow the money from Berlin to Milan to New York to Istanbul. Finding themselves in a high-stakes chase across the globe, their relentless tenacity puts their own lives at risk as their targets will stop at nothing – even murder – to continue financing terror and war. Rated R in the US for some sequences of violence and language. Mixed or average reviews: 52/54 out of 100.
Houston Chronicle, Amy Biancolli: Now’s as good a time as any for some out-of-control greedy-banker-bashing.
Roger Ebert: Not since the days of silent movies have bankers as a group been cast so ruthlessly as villains. They used to wear waxed mustaches and throw widows and orphans out into the storm. Now the mustaches are gone. "Banker" has been incorporated into the all-embracing term "Wall Street." The bankers in "The International" broker arms deals, sell missiles under the counter and assassinate anyone who gets too snoopy. First they throw you out into the storm, then they blow you up.
Whether this is a fair portrait is not the purpose of a film review to determine. It is accurate of the bankers on view here, and given the face of Armin Mueller-Stahl, once familiar as a good guy, now enjoying a new career as a ruthless villain. His bank, based in Luxembourg as so many schemes are, has been assassinating nosey-parkers for getting too close to their operations, which involve investing in African rebels, nuclear weaponry and arming both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The movie has a scene in it Hitchcock might have envied, a gun battle ranging up and down the ramps of the Guggenheim Museum in New York. Why there? Because the visuals are terrific.
Wongkamlao / Wong-Kum-Lao / วงษ์คำเหลา: Thai, Comedy/ Family – 90 mins – Popular comedian turned director Mum Jokmok both directs and stars in this quite well-received romantic comedy in which Mum plays the heir of the Wongkamlao Family, an extremely wealthy family that runs a jewelry business. He falls in love with the poor English tutor of his younger brother, over the objections of his class-conscious family.
The Secret of Moonacre: Hungary/ UK/ France, Adventure/ Family/ Fantasy/ Romance – 103 mins – Also known as The Little White Horse and for a while called The Moon Princess. From the children’s book "Moonacre" or "The Little White Horse" by Elizabeth Goudge, published in England in 1994. It’s also been a TV series, a 1994 6-part mini-series. The film comes by way of the Hungarian director and animator Gabor Csupo (pronounced "Chew-po") who gave us Bridge to Terabithia in 2007, and has been involved in many TV animations (Rugrats, Simpsons, Casper) as both animator and producer.
After finishing her debut role in The Golden Compass at the age of 12, Dakota Blue Richards was then cast in The Secret of Moonacreat the age of 13. By the time of the premiere of The Golden Compass, The Secret of Moonacre had already been filmed, primarily in Budapest. Also stars Welsh actor Ioan Gruffudd (pronounced "Yo-wahn Griffith"), the British actress Natascha McElhone, and Tim Curry, the very hard-working actor who has had 179 TV and film roles since 1975’s seminal The Rocky Horror Picture Show – and several before that.
London Times: A shrewd mix of live action and exotic animation by the Hungarian director Gabor Csupo. The plot springs from a large, dusty, leather-bound fairytale about a strange land far, far away. It’s the only relic the 13-year-old Maria Merryweather (Dakota Blue Richards) has inherited from her dead and dissolute father.The orphan is dispatched to live with her brooding uncle (Ioan Gruffudd) in a shabby Gothic pile cursed by an ancient feud over a handful of pearls. His nemesis, Tim Curry, stews in the woods near by. Maria has the magic to settle their dispute. Whether she will or not is another matter. Csupo gets the awkward adolescence just right, and the magic realism is frightfully English.
I am sorry to report that the film has garnered generally negative reviews: 37 out of 100.
RottenTomatoes: Despite impressive production values, this is staid, plodding, and unimpressive fantasy-fare, with poor performances struggling with an underdeveloped script. Lovely production design.
D13-Ultimatum / District 13: Ultimatum / Banlieue 13 - Ultimatum: France, Action – 95 mins – District B13 Ultimatum is the English language title of the 2009 French action film, Banlieue 13 Ultimatum.
The film, directed by Patrick Alessandrin, is the sequel to the acclaimed 2004 French action film Banlieue 13 which was a notable success worldwide and is now something of a cult classic. The original film was notable for its depiction of parkour in a number of stunt sequences that were completed without the use of wires or computer generated effects and because of this some critics drew comparisons to the popular Thai film Ong-Bak. Thai dubbed only/ no English subtitles.
Wikipedia: Immediately after the events of the original film, the authorities are attempting to return law and order to ravaged District 13. However the death of gang overlord Taha Bemamud at the end of the original film has left a power vacuum, and total control of the area is now being fought over by five rival territorial gang lords who want to step into Taha's position of overlord over District 13. Damien and Leito return to District 13 on a mission to bring peace to the troubled sector before the secret services of Paris take drastic measures to solve the problem.
Variety: Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the Paris suburbs, writer-producer Luc Besson lobs another Molotov cocktail at the screen with "District B13: Ultimatum." Fun and frenetic sequel to the 2004 actioner heads back to the titular ghetto/war zone, where racially charged gangs are threatened by corrupt officials, trigger-happy cops, and nonstop chaos. With enough refs to the 2005 French riots to be considered, if not political, at least timely, the pic skillfully blends combat with social messaging, in an explosive blend that should satisfy fans in Gaul and beyond.
Thick as Thieves / The Code: US/ Germany, Crime – 104 mins – A master thief recruits a younger crook to help him steal two famous Faberge eggs from an impenetrable vault in an effort to pull off one final job and repay his debt to the Russian mob. Supposedly set in New York City, but it’s mostly Bulgaria. With Morgan Freeman and Antonio Banderas.
Generally savagely poor reviews with a few which say it’s an OK time-waster. In the rest of the world this went straight to DVD. Rated R in the US for sexuality, language, and some nudity.
DVD Verdict: Once destined for a feature film release, The Code was wisely determined to be the type of dreck best written off in the direct-to-DVD market. The best word for describe this film is "flat." Mimi Leder's direction is flat, the acting is flat, the story is flat, and, most disappointingly, the heist is flat.
This might have been disappointing, if any of the actors cared in the least about what was going on. Freeman and Banderas are obviously disinterested, and I very much doubt they made a stink over the film's failure to score a theatrical release. The quicker this mediocrity is buried on the Blockbuster shelves the better. Just as long as the check clears.
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen: US, Action/ Adventure/ Sci-Fi. It’s Autobots® versus Decepticons®, Round 2, in Michael Bay’s film based on Hasbro’s Transformers™ action figures. With Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, and John Turturro. Now that I’ve seen it, it’s even clearer that it’s all about trade names and merchandising! Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) again joins with the Autobots® against their sworn enemies, the Decepticons®. I’m convinced that to really enjoy this film you need years of training. With video games. Generally negative reviews: 35/41 out of 100.
Hollywood Reporter: Bay's team of four editors stitch together smashing but meaningless images, though it's as difficult to make out which machine is which as it is to tell what anyone is saying. The noise level -- not helped by Steve Jablonsky's relentless score -- is super-intense and everyone yells lines at high speed. Because nothing they're saying makes any sense, it's hardly important.
Scheduled for Pattaya cineplexes on Thursday, July 16
Public Enemies: US, Action/ Crime/ Drama/ History/ Thriller – 140 min – With Johnny Depp as Dillinger! Michael Mann’s latest film pits Johnny Depp against Christian Bale as the two star as career criminal John Dillinger and G-man Melvin Purvis, respectively, in this Great Depression-era drama about the FBI’s attempts to shut down organized crime. The film features a strong supporting cast, including Billy Crudup, Channing Tatum, Giovanni Ribisi, Stephen Dorff, Rory Cochrane, and Oscar-winner Marion Cotillard (for her role as Edith Piaf in the 2007 La môme/La vie en rose). Rated R in the US for gangster violence and some language. Generally favorable reviews: 70/63 out of 100.
The New York Times, Manohla Dargis: A grave and beautiful work of art.
Dear Galileo / หนีตามกาลิเลโอ: Thai, Comedy/ Drama – 90 mins – From Nithiwat Tharathorn, one of the famed “Fan Chan Six” – i.e., one of the six neophyte directors who collaborated while in University on what is probably the most enchantingly delightful Thai film ever, Fan Chan (My Girl) (2003). All six have since gone on to direct other films; this is Nithiwat’s second film on his own; his first solo film was the sweet Seasons Change (2006) about students at a music college. In Dear Galileo he continues his examination of students in love as two teenage girls plan to backpack for a year in the "Big Three" of Europe – London, Paris, and Rome. Filmed on location in Europe.
And looking forward:
Jul 30 – The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3: US/ UK, Crime/ Drama/ Thriller – 121 mins – Denzel Washington plays a New York City subway dispatcher who’s day is thrown into chaos by an audacious crime: the hijacking of a subway train. The criminal mastermind, played by John Travolta, is the leader of a highly-armed gang of four who threatens to execute the train’s passengers unless a large ransom is paid within one hour. As the tension mounts beneath his feet, the dispatcher employs his vast knowledge of the subway system in a battle to outwit the criminals and save the hostages. But there’s one riddle about it all: even if the crimiinals get the money, how can they possibly escape? A reworking of the 1974 film. Rated R in the US for violence and pervasive language. Mixed or average reviews: 55/56 out of 100.
Aug 20 – Inglourious Basterds: US/ Germany, Action/ Adventure/ War – Quentin Tarantino's long-awaited tale of Jewish-American troops on the hunt for Nazi scalps in WWII France is unlikely to get usurped as the most bad-ass movie of 2009, thanks to the fact that, well, it's a Quentin Tarantino film. Inglourious Basterds stars Brad Pitt as Lt. Aldo Raine, leader of the titular squadron that includes Samm Levine, Eli Roth, and B.J. Novak; along with German actress and Allied agent Bridget von Hammersmark (Diane Kruger), they attempt to bring down the Nazis -- in the bloodiest way possible. Mike Myers, Cloris Leachman, and Samuel L.Jackson also star in the exploitation throwback, so look forward to a star-studded (and gore-filled) good time. Early reviews: Mixed or average: 56 out of 100.
New website for Major Cineplex
Here you go: Schedule on Major Cineplex Website or http://www.majorcineplex.com/showtimepage.php
It’s basically a mixture of Thai and English, and this is how you work it: The link above gets you to the “Showtime” page. On the right two-thirds of the screen you will see two lists: movies, and theaters. At the top of the list of movies, click “Select All Movie” unless you’re really only interested in one movie. On the list of theaters, click “Pattaya.” This is one of four cities in the “Zone UPC-South-East” section, which is the 7th region down, or the 3rd from the bottom. Then hit “go” either at the top or the bottom of the lists, and almost immediately you will get at the very bottom of the page a list of the movies, the cinemas (โรง) they are in, and their remaining times (เวลา) for the day. If you do this after midnight and in the early morning, you will get a blank. Times are posted later in the morning. You have no way at the moment for getting any times except for the current day, and only the remaining times.
