CinemaSerf

Typically recalcitrant teen "M" (Putthipong Assaratanakul) is puzzled by the behaviour of his cousin "Mui" (Tontawan Tantivejakul) as she meticulously cares for a bedridden, elderly, gentleman. Puzzled, that is, until he dies and leaves her his large home instead of to his children. Almost simultaneously, he goes to visit an ancestral tomb with his own family only for his grandma (Usha Seamkhum) to take a tumble down the mound and hurt her ankle. A routine trip to the hospital delivers some bad news for the family as they discover that she has stage 4 cancer and perhaps just a year to live. Galvanised by the experience of "Mui" and conscious that his own gaming business isn't exactly setting the cassia on fire, he starts to pay a great deal more attention to this elderly but independently minded lady, in the hope that he might jump up the inheritance ladder ahead of his own mother and her two brothers. One uncle "Soei" (Pongsatorn Jongwilas) is a bit of a thieving wastrel; the other "Kiang" (Sanya Kunakorn) is a successful man living with his wife and young daughter and then there's his own mum "Sew" (Jear Sarinrat Thomas) who works shifts to keep her and her idler son in reasonable style. Needless to say, "Amah" didn't come up the river on the last lotus blossom and so is sceptical about her grandson's newfound familial devotions, but as they share her small (but apparently quite valuable) home, we see their relationship evolve from the obviously venal and suspicious to the more obviously loving. The plot itself does follow some fairly predictable lines, but it's the two principal characterisations that really work here. The young "M" actually appears to mature in front of us thanks to a solid and often quite humorous performance whilst the wily and spirited grandmother has to face her own mortality and review her own life - often via the disappointing conduits of her children, her grandson and her estranged and wealthy brother. In some ways it reminded me of "Tokyo Story" (1953) in that it depicts attitudes to an elderly parent who is but a fly in the ointment of their own family and professional lives - until, that is, they realise there might be assets to divide. In the end, all the old lady really wants is to see her brood happy and to have that final "home" of her own, but for that she needs 1 million Baht (c.£23k) to secure a spacious plot so her own will come and pay her a visit once a year in remembrance. What's odd here is that this stoic lady makes a meagre living making congee, has only modest savings in a tin in the kitchen but could never afford to fund her dream without selling her home - yet that isn't one of the cards she is willing to play. It's not about her now, but her family's tomorrow. The gentle intensity of their relationship is really quite touching to watch unfold and this debut effort from Seamkhum is really quite poignant and remarkable. Indeed, when it is just the two of them getting on each other's nerves; or him buying the wrong fish; or playing cards or even moving the statue of the goddess it's a lovely insight into an inter-generational rapport that offers both a chance to grow up. Two hours flew by and this is certainly a film you can take quite a lot from to think about afterwards.

With their joints creaking almost as much as the script, this instalment of the franchise sees "Riggs" (Mel Gibson) and "Murtaugh" (Danny Glover) start they way they mean to go on - pyrotechnically! This time, it's the encroaching Triad gangs from China who are involved in some people smuggling and currency forging that could end up facilitating an all-out war in Chinatown between the menacingly stylish "Wah Sing Ku" (Jet Li) and local mobster "Uncle Benny" (Kim Chan). Just to add to the mayhem, IAD detective "Lorna" (Rene Russo) is about to have a baby (with "Riggs"); his partner is soon to be a grandfather courtesy of his daughter and another fellow cop, "Butters" (Chris Rock) and then there is the wacky "Leo" (Joe Pesci) whose words of wisdom and frenetic techniques have to be heard/seen to be believed. "Murtaugh" takes pity on the recently arrived "Hong" family and sufficiently narks the Triad so they invade and set fire to his home. He and "Riggs" only just manage to save the family and now the battle lines are drawn. Chris Rock and Joe Pesci just annoyed me from start to finish, but there is compensating chemistry from Gibson and Glover who know each other inside out by now and this features one of the most entertaining car chases cinema has ever produced. I hope the city had a great deal of insurance! It's quickly paced and the writing, though heavily laden with unnecessary expletives, does deliver some pithy one liners, especially for Gibson, as it heads towards it's lively denouement with bullets and fists flying all over the place as yet more concrete crumbles. It's a formula that has worked well until now, pitching two charismatic actors into frying pan and fire environments with little jeopardy but enough humour. Perhaps that emphasis ought not be on enough now, and they should all retire to Palm Springs, rear frogs and leave us to recall this duo in their heyday?

This starts with a rather downbeat description of life in the Grand Hotel where "...nothing ever happens". Well maybe it is supposed to look like that, like the swan gliding effortlessly whilst it's legs paddle like hell, but in reality it is a potpourri of the actually wealthy, the pretend wealthy, the aspirational, the petulant and one thoroughly decent old gent called "Kringelein". He (Lionel Barrymore) has been given a terminal diagnosis by his doctor and so has decided to push the boat out and spend his remaining time, and money, enjoying caviar and champagne amongst those whom he hopes are a better class of individual. What he gets, though, is his erstwhile employer "Preysing" (Wallace Beery) who is up to no good with his investors; the charming "Baron" (John Barrymore) who hasn't two pfennigs to rub together so has designs initially just on the pearls of dancer "Grusinskaya" (Greya Garbo) before falling hook line and sinker. Also, on the loved up front, is under appreciated secretary "Flaemmchen" (the charming Joan Crawford) who has taken a bit of a shine to the otherwise occupied "Baron" and then, just to top off this glittering array of profligacy and betrayal, we have the permanently sozzled "Dr. Otterschneig" (Lewis Stone). With the maître d' expecting a baby; the cleaning staff unsure which rooms to clean or to avoid and card games proving make or break, it's a maelstrom of activity and emotions that makes you realise exactly why Miss Garbo just wants to be alone! Director Edmund Goulding juggles the plates well here as his stars gel convincingly for almost two hours of gently simmering melodrama. In the end, will anyone get any fulfilment from their stay in this opulent Berlin facility? Aside from the engaging rapport between the two Barrymore brothers, Garbo hams up marvellously and as Stone stands beside that revolving door at the end, I wondered if it could all be about to happen again, only with different players. Which half dozen could equal these, though? Classy and stylish throughout, it's a cleverly interwoven story that exposes humanity none too favourably sometimes, and is well worth two hours.