Thailand Voice

Directed by Surasee Patham Starring Petthai Wongkumlao, Pichet Kongkarn, Fonfa Patham, Asongkai Saengtam, Panna Rittakrai, Kampanee Wongtongkam Released in Thai cinemas on January 14, 2010; rated 13+ Wise Kwai’s rating: 2/5 I’ve not had the benefit of seeing the original 1978 version of Kru Bannok . By… Read full story >>>

The Bangkok Post: The GT 200 is made in Britain by a different company. It is a hand-held device and has a remote substance detector and chip cards.Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban yesterday tried to quell worries over the GT 200, saying: “We use a Read full story >>>

They say you can tell a lot about a person by their handwriting. If that’s the case, then the monk who drew this fancy script on the taxi ceiling is a perfectionist and an appreciator of beauty. The lines are exceptionally fluid and graceful and the letters and forms are extremely precise and… Read full story >>>

It looks like we may have a month or so of intensified political action as the pro-democracy UDD movement is rumoured to be widening its campaign to take in a number of targets. For example, today we can see: A … Read full story >>>

Recovered from his traumatic experience reviewing the ouevre of Sompote Sands , Todd at Die, Danger, Die, Die, Kill once again braves the grave dangers of old-time Thai cinema with a look at Insee Daeng: Insee Payong ( อินทรีแดง ตอน อินทรีผยอง ). With… Read full story >>>

Published in the Royal Gazette last Thursday was the rename of one administrative village (Muban) in Nakhon Ratchasima province. Village 1 of Tum subdistrict , Pak Thong Chai district was renamed from Ban Non Tak Daet (บ้านโนนตากแดด) to Ban Khlong Wat (บ้านคลองวัด). As the rationale for the name change, the history of the village is… Read full story >>>

One of the things Thailand and Pattaya in particular is known for is Ladyboy’s.  Also called Kathoey (or katoey) in Thai, Ladyboy’s are the third gender of Thailand.  They are transsexual males who live their lives as females. Some Pattaya Ladyboy’s are very … Read full story >>>

I’m sure if you live in the LOS or have visited for any length of time, you have heard this expression. For those of you married ,or living with a Thai lady , it is an all to common and many times … Read full story >>>

Don Pathan of The Nation has an interesting article here about the massacre at the mosque last year and recent arrests of the alleged perpetrator… Read full story >>>

Avudh in The Nation: The government and the authorities concerned ought to heed the London-based group, instead of brushing off its criticism as lacking perception of the “reverence” for the Thai monarchy….Cases involving notorious suspects like Giles Ungphakorn and Jakrapob Read full story >>>

A week ago Thanong in The Nation wrote (as blogged about here): Second, the sources say the UK Treasury has quietly seized some $4 billion believed to belong to Thaksin.Be… Read full story >>>

Directed by Somkiat Vituranich Starring Ratchawin Wongviriya, Thanawat Wattanapoom, Pitsanu Nimsakul Released in Thai cinemas on December 23, 2009; rated G Wise Kwai’s rating: 4/5 Fresh and surprisingly engaging, even as it is steeped in dusty nostalgia and soggy melodrama, October Sonata hits the right… Read full story >>>

The other day Miss Noot and some of her classmates had to finish a project for one of their subjects at university. So I was dragged along to the local Index store where they were doing some scenes and I took a … Read full story >>>

Singer, actor, screenwriter, director and producer Surin Charoenpura, better known by his stage name Ruj Ronnapop ( รุจน์ รณภพ) , died on Sunday at age 78. He was the father of three actresses: Mai Charoenpura, “Sai” Inthira Charoenpura and Vipvadee Charoenpura. Born in Nakhon Si Thammarat, Ruj Ronnapop’s career spanned five decades. His … Read full story >>>

The past week has seen a resurgence in interest for Cambodian cinema, thanks to an event at Phnom Penh’s riverside Chinese House , Golden Reawakening , which has been showing classic Khmer films from the 1960s and ’70s. The exhibition wraps up tomorrow with two films by Tea Lim Koun — an … Read full story >>>

Headaches at Hua Hin’s Asean gathering. A Thaksin rift mars the Asean solidarity. The host, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, cancels a press conference mid-summit and no bilateral meeting with Cambodia. Well, ignoring the simple fact that he had been installed by a de facto judicial coup – … Read full story >>>

Petchara Chaowarat , the biggest-name actress in the Thai movie business in the 1960s and ’70s, had her career sidelined by blindness. Legend has it that make-up to give her trademark “puppy-dog eyes” even more sparkle combined with the bright lights of film sets… Read full story >>>

Taken earlier this month in Chiang Mai. Read full story >>>

Pioneering indie director Cherd Songsri would have been 78 years old on Sunday. He died in 2006 after a fight with cancer, but his legacy remains strong, thanks to the efforts of the Film Archive in Salaya, Nakhon Pathom . On Sunday, September 20, the archive will show what’s probably my favorite … Read full story >>>

I knew before that there were more of the Mueang than those which became the modern-day provinces, yet most of these were subordinate of more important and powerful Mueang . For several of the districts I read in the history that they were such subordinate Mueang … Read full story >>>

What impact would the decision to take Thailand on to the next stage of economic development have on the physical environment of the country? This next stage would feature strengthening domestic consumption to reduce vulnerability to external environmental changes, as discussed previously. It would be combined with greater levels of social … Read full story >>>

Political analyst Thitinan Pongsudhirak — whose recent story about the national police chief saga I mentioned yesterday — has another Bangkok Post opinion piece worth reading. It’s about the role of the military in Thai politics. You can find it here . Timely reading, as tomorrow (Sat., Sept. 19th) is the three year anniversary of… Read full story >>>

There’s probably a whole history that could be written about Thai films shot in foreign lands. Briefly, the recent Europe-hopping Dear Galileo comes to mind, as does Yuthlert Sippapak’s New York-based February from 2003, as well as Tony Jaa’s Tom Yum Goong shot in Sydney. But going … Read full story >>>

One of the more notable features of East Asian cinema has been the use of horror and the reinvention of some western ideas of what constitutes horror. Thai cinema is no exception and, indeed, the many television drama series on show here regularly cut away from the… Read full story >>>

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Veera in the Bangkok Post: …the relationship between the Democrat Party and its coalition partner, Bhumjaithai, appears to have gone downhill. There is a general feeling among the Bhumjaithai people that the Democrats are out to block almost every project or proposal … Read full story >>>

We visited a snake show in Khon Kaen featuring King Cobras. King Cobras are not your average pets but the snake show in this village is given by the residents who all keep King Cobras in their homes. The village we are talking about is Ban Khok Sa-Nga in… Read full story >>>

Yoon in The Nation:He cited three pre-conditions for his decision to take that big plunge:1. First, let the government’s package to improve the country’s economy show some positive results. When will that be? Abhisit said the period between … Read full story >>>

Hard-core Southeast Asian film enthusiasts will be spoiled for choice this weekend in Bangkok. Not only is the Lav Diaz retrospective continuing , there’s a mix of old classics and contemporary Thai features being shown at Paragon Cineplex in “Lae… Read full story >>>

Romance films will be featured in what’s now the closing program of the the Week of Siam series at House cinema on Royal City Avenue in Bangkok.Starting today, six films are featured in the “Way Back Into Love” program:Work and Marriage (Taeng… Read full story >>>