Stoked about 'Stoker'

“I was just waiting for a great script to surface regardless of the language it was in,” Park says. “This is the one in which I saw the most potential out of all the scripts that I had received at the time. I had thought that with a script of this calibre I would be able to make this film anywhere in the world, whether it be in English, French or whatever language.”

The family drama centres on a young woman, India Stoker (Mia Wasikowska), whose father dies in an auto accident. Soon after, her Uncle Charlie (Matthew Goode), who she never knew existed, comes to live with her and her emotionally unstable mother (Nicole Kidman). India suspects the mysterious, charming man has ulterior motives, but instead of feeling outrage or horror, she becomes increasingly infatuated with him.

The last movie to be produced by Tony Scott before his death last year, it’s also the debut screenplay by Wentworth Miller, the hunky actor who formerly starred in the US TV drama “Prison Break”. After at first not being taken seriously because no one would believe a good-looking person could write a great script, Miller submitted it under the pen name Ted Foulke (Foulke is his dog’s name). It landed on the 2010 “black list” of the most sought-after scripts in Hollywood.

And, although the name of the film evokes “Dracula” author Bram Stoker, Miller insists the story isn’t about vampires. However, the villain is just as predatory.

 

Also opening

_ “Amour” – Michael Haneke’s old-age drama is hot off winning the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film (see the story at left). An uncompromisingly bleak portrait of an elderly couple, “Amour” has met widespread acclaim since its premiere last year at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won the top-prize Palme d’Or. Other accolades have included the British Film Academy Award for Best Leading Actress and Best Film Not in the English Language and four of France’s César Awards – Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Actress. Officially in sneak previews this week, it’s screening at around 8 nightly in French with English and Thai subtitles at Apex Siam Square, SF cinemas and a few Major Cineplex branches.

 

_ “Jack the Giant Slayer” – Hollywood’s first major tentpole release of the year, the fairy tale about a guy named Jack, magic beanstalks and giants is given the “Lord of the Rings” comedy-fantasy-epic treatment by director Bryan Singer (“X-Men”, “The Usual Suspects”). Nicholas Hoult, already on our big screens as a lovestruck zombie in “Warm Bodies”, is the young hero. Other cast members include Ewan McGregor, Stanley Tucci, Ian McShane and Bill Nighy as one head on a two-headed giant. It’s in 2D as well as 3D, including Imax and Imax Digital.

 

_ “Gambit” – This remake of a 1966 Michael Caine crime caper stars Colin Firth as an art dealer seeking to swindle his abusive boss (Alan Rickman) by conning him into buying a fake Monet “Haystacks” painting. However, the plan quickly unravels thanks to an unpredictable Texas rodeo queen, played by Cameron Diaz. Tom Courtenay, Stanley Tucci (again) and Cloris Leachman also star. The “Gambit” remake has been stuck in Hollywood’s development hell for years, with such names as Aaron Sorkin, Alexander Payne, Robert Altman and Mike Nichols attached at one time or another. Eventually, Joel and Ethan Coen cashed a paycheck for writing the script and directing chores fell to Michael Hoffman (“The Last Station”). After its release in the UK last year, critical reception has been overwhelmingly negative, showing that not everything the Coen brothers have something to do with is necessarily good. It’s at Major Cineplex.

 

_ “A Werewolf Boy” – This hit South Korean drama has a young woman living at an isolated country estate where she befriends a feral young man. Park Bo-young and Song Joong-ki star. It’s in Korean with English and Thai subtitles at some cinemas.

 

_ “Chronicle of My Mother” – As if “Amour” isn’t enough sadness on our screens, here’s more drama about the aged slipping away. Adapted from an auto-biographical novel by Yasushi Inoue, the story has the writer trying to reconcile with his dying 80-year-old mother and find out why she abandoned him years before. It’s at Apex and House.

 

Also showing

_ “Kai Po Che!” – This Bollywood comedy-drama stars Sushant Singh Rajput, Raj Kumar Yadav and Amit Sadh as three friends who are bound by their love for cricket. It’s in Hindi with English and Thai subtitles at Major cineplex Sukhumvit and Rama III.