panna rittikrai Tagged Articles at Cinematical

The last time we checked in with Tony Jaa, he was alternately tearful and demanding. The acrobatic Thai martial arts star of Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior and The Protector walked off the set of his big-budget directing debut, Ong-Bak 2 (which is not, despite its title, a direct sequel), and disappeared into the jungle earlier this year, reemerging two months later amidst press conferences and legal recriminations.

Among other things, Jaa demanded more money to be added to the budget and the hiring of his friend, veteran action choreographer and director Panna Rittikrai *. The production company wanted Prachya Pinkaew, who directed Jaa in Ong-Bak and The Protector before the two had a falling out, to step in and oversee the completion of the film. At least some of Jaa's demands must have been met, since he returned to work, more money was poured into the production, and Rittikrai came on board.

Was all the trouble worth it? Judge for yourself. The film is on track to meet its release date of December 4 and a trailer is playing in local cinemas, reports Wise Kwai's Thai Film Journal. He found the trailer on YouTube and notes: "It's really best seen on the big screen. I can't describe well enough how great I think it looks." We've posted the trailer after the jump.

Get ready for JiJa-mania! First, though, we have to decide how to spell her name. JiJa Yanin (as her name appears on a Hong Kong DVD, JeeJa Yanin as it's spelled at IMDb, Yanin 'Jeeja' Wismitanant according to film writer Wise Kwai) is a whirling dervish of a woman warrior in Prachya Pinkaew's Thai action flick Chocolate. And you can order it on DVD today, as long as you can play foreign-region DVDs, can understand Thai, and/or don't mind the lack of English-language sub-titles.

I'd rather understand everything that's going on in the movie, but there's been no word on a US distributor and I've grown impatient since first hearing about Chocolate back in February, when it was released in its native Thailand. Even without sub-titles, though, it's easy to follow the narrative.

A gun-toting female debt collector has an affair with a Japanese man, which enrages the gang leader who considers the woman his personal property. She is forced to raise her autistic daughter alone. Her daughter becomes an enfant terrible as far as kick boxing and martial arts are concerned, and soon is demonstrating her uncanny ability to catch flies and whatever is thrown at her -- baseballs, tennis balls, knives -- on the streets of Bangkok.

Mom gets sick, though, and the young girl who loves chocolate discovers Mom's book of old debts and decides to start collecting from a nefarious collection of criminal businessmen. Of course, they don't want to pay, and they all employ dozens of henchmen all too eager to viciously attack a young, pretty teenager, and so our young heroine must fight back the only way she knows how.

Have you heard about the new action movie from a 7-foot tall Australian wrestling strongman turned actor? Me neither, until I read Wise Kwai's Thai Film Journal and learned about Somtum, starring Nathan Jones. I don't recall Jones (AKA Megaman, AKA Colossus) from his small role in Troy, but I did notice him squaring off against Asian action heroes Jet Li (Fearless) and Tony Jaa (The Protector); he was a frightening, if briefly-seen, nemesis in both those movies.

Jones gets to play the good guy in Somtum. His character, Barney Rubble Emerald, is a down on his luck gentle giant when he crosses paths with two young women: Katen (Narawat Techarattanaprasert), an orphaned street hustler, and Dokya (Sasisa Jindamanee), a tiny Muay Thai fighting chick. Dokya's mother sells somtum, a spicy, chili-fueled papaya salad, and when Barney naively eats too much at once, it drives him temporarily insane and he tears apart the food stand. To atone for his sins, he learns Muay Thai and becomes an underground fighter. He gets mixed up with crazed foreigners and stolen diamonds.

Wise Kwai says somtum, the food, is a spicy treat best shared with friends, "and Somtum, the movie, is a lot of fun, too. And, yes, you should see it with friends, and marvel at this action-packed, oftentimes silly, but also very sweet tale." The great Panna Rittikrai choreographed the action. Until a DVD appears somewhere, check out the trailer, which looks hella fun.

I know you shouldn't be jealous of friends, but dang! A couple of my friends from Twitch are in Berlin right about now, preparing to watch Prachya Pinkaew's Chocolate at the European Film Market, and I'm jealous. (Cue: raised fist and railing at the heavens.) I'm also jealous of all the good people in Thailand, where the movie opens today. Why so jealous? First, Pinkaew directed Ong Bak and The Protector, both of which were rocket-fueled flicks filled with jaw-dropping action. And second, have you seen the trailer?

The trailer hit last month and features "Jeeja" as an autistic girl who kicks butt like there's no tomorrow. She was discovered four years ago by Pinkaew while he was helping to cast another movie (Born to Fight), according to Bangkok newspaper The Nation. She didn't get a part in that film, but Pinkaew was so impressed he invited her to begin working with his friend and fellow filmmaker Panna Rittikrai. She's been training in martial arts ever since.

Thai film expert Wise Kwai says the first 30 minutes develops the heroine's character, followed by "90 minutes of non-stop, innovative and dangerous action, as new female martial arts star Yanin 'Jeeja' Wismitanant single-handedly lays waste to dozens of men with just her feet, knees, shins and fists." Given the current inhospitable climate for nearly all foreign-language genre films in the US, I don't expect Chocolate to get a wide theatrical release, but it would be sweet if some kind distributor gave it exposure on the specialty festival circuit and selected theatrical playdates -- like Magnolia Pictures did with Rittikrai's Dynamite Warrior -- before releasing it on DVD.

[ Via Grady Hendrix at Kaiju Shakedown. ]