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Thread: Chocolate- new Prachya Pankaew movie

  1. #31
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    A thumbs down review.

    I wonder if Sollecito is basing this review on the theatrical release that's allegedly 20 minutes shy. I saw a screener of the upcoming Magnet DVD and it seemed complete to me.
    Don't give this 'Chocolate' for Valentine's
    Anthony Sollecito
    Published: Tuesday, February 3, 2009
    Updated: Wednesday, February 4, 2009
    chocolate

    As far as martial arts films go, “Chocolate” boasts a standard plot: Zen (newcomer JeeJa Yanin) loves Muay Thai and has imitated the moves of Thai action star Tony Jaa her entire life. When her dying mother can no longer afford chemotherapy, Zen puts her self-taught fighting skills to the test, setting out on a quest to collect the family’s unpaid debts and inadvertently unearthing their dangerous past in the process. Now cross that bag of clichés with “Rain Man,” and you have a high-concept revenge film starring a severely autistic, candy-loving Muay Thai savant pitted against a pimped-out crime boss and his entourage of gun-wielding, glammed-out transvestites. Oh, and our heroine suffers from a crippling fear of CGI flies.

    Such a synopsis makes “Chocolate” sound unquestionably awesome but don’t be fooled: Despite its ludicrous premise, it is unfortunately just another one of the cookie-cutter, low-budget martial arts films being churned out by the Thai film industry. What is all the more surprising is the movie’s pedigree: It was directed and choreographed by Thai mainstays Prachya Pinkaew and Panna Rittikrai, who worked on Tony Jaa’s terrific international breakthroughs, “Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior” and “The Protector.” While both of those films feature similarly bare-bones plots, one should not underestimate the liveliness and sheer talent of Tony Jaa.

    The same cannot be said of Yanin, whose performance lacks Jaa’s vital energy, though it is hard to say how much of that burden rests squarely on her shoulders. Stuck playing a practically mute, one-dimensional character, Yanin has a difficult time connecting emotionally with the audience. Her performance is therefore merely a display of her physical skills, and on that level, Pinkaew’s direction lets her down.

    While Yanin has serious action skills, “Chocolate” commits a cardinal sin of martial arts cinema: choppy, fast-paced editing. In order for the action to feel realistic, the director must respect and highlight the dance-like quality of martial arts choreography. A director only needs to rely on editing when he must disguise an actor’s inadequacies as a fighter. “Chocolate” may feature professionals, but it feels excessively staged. Even as the film’s set pieces become more and more extravagant, it never feels as though the stuntmen are in danger of getting injured. And that is the true thrill of a martial arts film: wondering how they managed to film a scene without someone dying.

    As anyone who has seen both the Thai and international versions of Pinkaew’s films knows, they tend to get chopped up by the time they are released on U.S. shores. This is also sadly the case with “Chocolate,” which runs nearly 20 minutes shorter than its original cut. Reinstating that lost time would probably improve the film’s schizophrenic pacing, disguise its gigantic plot holes and possibly even clean up its shoddy editing. One of Pinkaew’s best characteristics in his collaborations with Tony Jaa is his unflinching use of the camera, filming action in long takes and keeping the cutting to a minimum. Viewers can only assume that perhaps this Americanization of “Chocolate” has distorted his original vision. For a real treat, check out one of Pinkaev’s other films instead.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  2. #32
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    On the big screen in the lone star state

    "why don’t the henchmen use firearms instead of their inferior kung fu?" Because it's a martial arts film. duh..

    Hungry for martial-arts action? Try 'Chocolate’
    R (extreme martial-arts violence, sex, nudity); 92 min.

    When a movie has the word "chocolate" in the title, it seems that — unless Willy Wonka is involved — it’s more than likely an imported slice of cinematic sensitivity a la Like Water for Chocolate or Chocolat. Well, Chocolate is a foreign film, but this wantonly politically incorrect, wildly enjoyable blast of martial-arts mayhem is about as kid-friendly as a bar brawl and as sensitive as a swift kick to the head.

    Chocolate, making its North Texas debut at midnight Friday and Saturday at Landmark’s Inwood in Dallas, has already been the subject of excited word-of-mouth on the fanboy underground since opening last year in Asia. Directed by Thailand’s Prachya Pinkaew, who made the 2003 martial-arts hit Ong-Bak, Chocolate centers on the autistic Zen (JeeJa Yanin), who grows up responding only to hand-to-hand, foot-to-face Muay Thai kickboxing combat, whether it’s on television or watching kids in the neighborhood practice their moves.

    She gets to put what she has absorbed into action because Mom (Ammara Siripong), who has been driven into poverty and illness by her former crime boss because he thinks her disloyal, has massive medical bills. Zen’s cousin Mangmoom (Taphon Phopwandee) decides to play collection agency with some of the bad guys who still owe Mom money, using the unstoppable Zen as his muscle. Of course, the boss and his vicious crew of glamorous, transgendered hit men aren’t too happy about this.

    Though Chocolate is a better made and more complex film than Ong-Bak, the plot still defies logic (why don’t the henchmen use firearms instead of their inferior kung fu?) and matters less than the action — but the action is spectacular. From a slip’n’slide workout in an ice factory to a cleaver crackdown in a butcher shop, Chocolate doesn’t slow down. In the process, young Yanin — in her first major role — proves herself not only to be the most compelling female martial-arts figure since Michelle Yeoh, but also someone who can clearly give the boys competition, too.

    Be sure to stay through the end credits because, as with the vintage Jackie Chan movies, the outtakes of stunts-gone-wrong are nearly as eye-popping as the film itself. That’s just the cherry on top of a piece of Chocolate that should satisfy the cravings of the action-film audience.

    In Thai, with English subtitles
    Exclusive: Landmark Inwood, midnight Friday and Saturday
    — Cary Darling
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  3. #33
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    Win Chocolate for Valentines

    Check out our new sweepstakes. You could win Chocolate on DVD, just released by today by the good people at Magnet. Contest ends 6:00 p.m. PST on 02/24/09. Good luck everyone!
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  4. #34
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    Quote Originally Posted by GeneChing View Post
    I give Chocolate a hearty thumbs up. Baa Ram Ewe has turned in another fine flick. I haven't laughed so hard at fight scenes in a very long time. Jeeja is very quick and agile and even turns in a satisfactory acting performance. Her striking power isn't convincing because she's a skinny girl, but what she lacks in impact is made up for with crazy Jackie Chan/Parkour style stunts. There's some great self reference too, a quality I found outstanding in The Forbidden Kingdom. If you know the genre, there are nods to Big Boss, Ong Bak, Tom Yum Goong, Unleashed, and like I said, Kill Bill. Pankaew and Rittikrai are obviously keen observers of martial arts cinema and I can't wait until their next project, which I believe to be Ong Bak II. Long live Baa Ram Ewe! Baa Ram Ewe! To your breed, your fleece, your clan be true!
    I never ever in a hundred years imagined myself yelling at my TV "Kill the tranny, kill that evil tranny!!"
    To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders.
    -Patanjali Samadhi


    "Not engaging in ignorance is wisdom."
    ~ Bodhi


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  5. #35
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lokhopkuen View Post
    I never ever in a hundred years imagined myself yelling at my TV "Kill the tranny, kill that evil tranny!!"
    agreed!!!!! hated that fake twat too!!!

  6. #36
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    If you liked that tranny villian...

    ...you must see Mercury Man. Trust me on this. It's the best part.

    The winners for our Chocolate DVD contest have been announced.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  7. #37
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    I missed the correlation.
    To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders.
    -Patanjali Samadhi


    "Not engaging in ignorance is wisdom."
    ~ Bodhi


    Never miss a good chance to shut up

  8. #38
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    When I saw the transvestites in Chocolate, it reminded me of the Thai tranny assassins in Skinny Tiger, Fatty Dragon, which co-starred Sammo Hung and Karl Maka.

  9. #39
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    Thumbs up Chocolate

    Did a search for this and didnt see anything pop up. Maybe my search fu is weak?

    Anyhow, I really dug this film. Some of the craziest stunts ive seen. May not seem like much on some of them, but when you catch the highlights at the end. some of those guys did some big stuff, one guy going to the hospital from landing on his head/neck on concrete.

    its a good combination of muay thai and wushu, making for some exciting fight stunts and acrobatics.


    (mini spoiler)a young girl with a mental handicap turns out to be a martial savant, able to learn by watching instantly. sets out on an adventure with her friend to recover money owed to her mother from past criminal dealings, to pay for her mothers chemotherapy medicine. then the past catches up.....a very suprising emotional ride at the end. its like the rain man of martial arts movies.


    best fight imo: when the savant girl fights the guy with physical turrets....classic
    For whoso comes amongst many shall one day find that no one man is by so far the mightiest of all.

  10. #40
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    my search fu is weak. i did a search on "chocolate" and didnt see this thread.

    shouldnt it pop up first under a word search as an exact match, or does it not go by keyword?



    oh well, it was a great movie.
    For whoso comes amongst many shall one day find that no one man is by so far the mightiest of all.

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