Kick'em In The Ghoulies

  Thai Action Films

There's lots of films from Thailand that feature some awe inspiring martial arts,and apart from the new releases that appear on the main pages ,here we will cover the films that have been out a while that you may have missed.So sit back and get ready for action.

Ong Bak  - Brave- Mercury Man - Sars Wars - Village of Warriors

                           copyright ©2004 Sahamongkol Film International

If your in to your Thai action then a film you should have seen is Born To Fight aka Kerd Ma Lui.

Starring Dan Chupong and directed by Panna Rittikrai Born to Fight is a non stop action film that contains some Jaw dropping fighting and stunts.Once again Panna Rittikrai proves he is the master of Thai action as everything he touches seems to turn to gold.

Dan Chupong plays Diew ( or Deaw in the English Sub version) .He is a police man in the Thai police in Bangkok and the film starts with him and his Partner tracking down a master criminal in the guise of General Yang here played by Nappon Gomarachun.

In the onslaught of the capture of the General Diew partner is killed in a explosion when he is trapped in a container lorry.A Bomb is set to go off and Chief,Diew's partner orders him to leave him and capture the general ,which he does but not before the bomb explodes killing chief.

 Now Diew is depressed at the death of his partner and takes time out to go on a trip with his sister who is part of the Thai Taekwondo team who has teamed up with Thai national athletes who help lesser wealthy people in the remote villages.They do this by doing Charity work giving goods and help to the less fortunate .

Now Diew's sister is not happy that her brother is chaperoning her but brings him along .Upon arriving in the remote village they give out gifts and toys for the children and provisions.

Now amongst the athletes are Diew's sister Nui who is played by Kessarin Ektawakul who herself is a Thai national Taekwondo champion.Along with Gymnasts ,Muay Thai boxers ,Footballers and Rugby players all out to do their part.

Sadly whilst relaxing with the villagers they are attacked by the Militia of a evil drug baron (which just happens to be the guy Diew has just put in jail).

The attackers enter the village shooting the villagers at random causing a mass panic,regardless of who they shoot ,women children or the elderly.Once in they put up perimeter fences ,install cameras and set up base .They then make footage of them killing hostages so they can send these to the Thai president.

Once sent they demand the release of general yang by a set time or hostages will die .Now Diew has managed to evade capture with another villager who he has had a fight with. He decides to make a break for it to get help,but in doing so stumbles upon the Militia's evil plans to send a nuclear missile to Bangkok and blow it off the planet.

A fight ensues where Diew battles Guards with planks of 2 by 4 which happen to be on fire (this has to be one of the  stand out fights of the film )Unfortunately he is captured and sent back to camp to join the rest of the hostages.

But Diew knows the truth now and must help save the lives of millions by stopping the crazed army from setting of the nuclear missile.He riles up the passion in the remaining hostages to fight to survive or be killed.

Now the action begins as the villagers  and the athletes combine forces to overthrow the militia .What follows is a masterclass in fight action and stunt work as the athletes show what their made of by displaying their arts to the fullest as they flip and kick the enemy whilst dodging bullets and grenades.

With stand out fights coming from Kessarin Ektawakul (Nui) as she fights a evil girl from the Militia who has a equally similar repertoire in the martial arts stakes. Then we have the amazing gymnast that saves a baby ties it to himself and battles whilst flipping and vaulting everywhere.Of course there are lots of moments that make it exciting ,like the Elderly villager who fights traditional Muay Thai against the attackers whilst protecting the children.  

Then you have Dan Chupong who unleashes some astounding kicks that either start with some sort of spin or end in one .I truly believe Dan Chupong is very versatile and seems to be able to move more gymnastically then Tony Jaa.I have seen him in a number of films now and he never ceases to amaze me.

 So what do i think of Born to Fight ,well it's a top film ,though very violent it portrays what can be done when people pull together under duress.As well as being a fine showcase for Panna Rittikrai's direction and fight work it is also a fine piece of entertainment.

Score out of Ten  = 8 

The Snake

For all intent and purposes everyone thought that when Tony Jaa came on the scene in  Ong Bak  and Tom Yum Goong that we had the next big Martial star and that it would be some time that we saw another artist come along with his capability ,or at least i did  if no one else thought the same.

So how wrong  i was and hopefully some of you readers are too. So when Prachya Pinkaew and Panna Rittikrai announced they had found a young girl to star in their next film there was quite some excitement around after the success of Tony Jaa's films by the same team.Well the Girl in question was Yanin Vismistananda (nicknamed JeeJa) who was born in 1984 .

But what was clever about Chocolate and the then very young Yanin was that under the guidance of Panna Rittikrai Yanin got the training that would make her shine on screen in a film that was filmed over about 2 years ,so that Yanin who plays Zen who is Autistic actually ages in the film,which was a nice touch as you can see her get older ,obviously this is only for her teenage years as other people where used to depict her as a small child or the film would have taken 18 years to make .

Yanin  was already versed in Taekwondo and underwent more extensive martial training and stunt work under Panna Rittikrai.

                     copyright 2008©Sahamongkol Film International

 The story goes that Zin who is a woman that works for a Thai gangster gets romantically  involved with a Yakuza boss (Massashi) and marries against the wishes of her Thai employer, who she had a relationship with before .

Her employer No'8 gets annoyed by this and forbids Zin from being with Massashi .(he shoots his own toe in disgust) .Massashi leaves and returns to Japan and No'8 tells Zin to have no contact with him,but a short while after Zin finds she is pregnant and when child arrives sends a letter to Massashi to tell him about his daughter,this letter gets intercepted by No'8 who goes to Zin's house and threatens her and cuts her toe off.Zin ends up getting cut off and moves house next door to a Muay Thai academy.Now her daughter( ZEN) is discovered to be Autistic and will need special care .

But what is evident is that Zen has a passion for martial arts films and watching the nearby Muay Thai students.Zin gets help from her younger brother who realizes Zen's passion for the arts and focuses on this and as she gets older they do street shows where she dodges balls thrown at her with out looking and other tricks.

Zen also copies the moves she see's on film and at the Martial arts school next door .So when Zin falls ill with cancer her brother and Zen make money through the shows to pay medical expenses ,but this is not enough .Now her brother discovers a book with names of people that owe Zin money and in a attempt to reclaim this money they approach the named people ,but as they are all dodgy or criminal and connected to her past with No'8 there attempts fail and this frustrates Zen who one night has a brainstorm she should ask for the money and when they refuse ,she would make them pay.

 So as you can see this is one tough kick flick as Zen  unleashes her fists and feet in a fury that will have you on the edge of your seat,from the first major fight to the last you will see her go through all styles of fighting with Homages played out to Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan right up to Tony Jaa style of Muay Thai.

With death defying stunts that are reminiscent of the cinema of Hong Kong in the Eighties and Nineties.The first fight is a Bruce Lee style fight in a Factory filled with ice (Big Boss) and then we are treated to a warehouse fight with lots of props and crates and boxes ,crow bars being used (Dragons Forever).But not only does this film shine in the fight stakes ,but also in the story and acting especially on the part of Zen played by Jeeja.

Compared to most Thai films of this nature where the story is the last thing they think of, Chocolate gives you the full package .We all know Ong Bak and Tom Yum Goong where great films but the stories where a bit lame 'hey you stole my Buddha Head or Hey you stole my Elephant' .

As with all Thai films i seem to watch there's always a helping of Lady boys in the films and Chocolate is no exception as No'8 's gang is run with the help of such a person and his /her lady Boy friends.But once you see a couple of these films you kinda get used to it .But it's a bit weird the first times to be sitting there watching these people.But if there is only one Thai film you see 'Chocolate is one that should be at the top of your list as it shines in all departments and we wait with anticipation  for Jeeja's next film (Raging Phoenix)

Score out of Ten = 9  The Snake