Almodovar takes the wheels off for high-flying laughter

Antonio Banderas and Penelope Cruz make cameos as a pair of ground-crew workers whose mistake later causes problems aboard a flight from Spain to Mexico.
Luckily, there is a resourceful trio of campy flight attendants (Javier Camara, Raul Arvalo and Carlos Areces) who work overtime to keep the colourfully wacky array of passengers calm.
Antonio de la Torre and Hugo Silva also star as the pilots.
And another Almodovar stalwart, Cecilia Roth, is a bossy passenger. It’s in Spanish with English and Thai subtitles at House and SF cinemas.

Also opening
“The Wolverine” – Back for another go at showing off his sideburns and toned physique, Hugh Jackman again straps on the steel claws to play what’s arguably the most popular character in the X-Men comic franchise. Read more about it at left.

“Admission” – Tina Fey and Paul Rudd star in this indie comedy-drama about a Princeton University admissions officer whose world comes crashing down when she encounters a student who might well be the kid she secretly gave up for adoption years before. Paul Weitz (“About a Boy”) directs.

“My Sweet Orange Tree” – Nostalgic Thais love the Brazilian novel this coming-of-age drama is based on, translated as “Ton Som San Rak”. It was even made into a TV soap opera. It’s the story of a lonely little boy who discovers he can talk to a small orange tree in his backyard. He’s also befriended by an elderly man who teaches him more life lessons. It’s in Portuguese with English and Thai subtitles at Apex in Siam Square.

Also showing
Moviemov Italian Film Festival – Running until Sunday at SF World Cinema at CentralWorld, the fest offers a mix of contemporary and classic Italian films and even a mini-selection of recent Thai horror flicks from the GTH studio. The classics are by Ettore Scola, known for his comedies and award-winning dramas from the 1960s to the ’80s. Among them is 1968’s “Riusciranno i nostri eroi a ritrovare l'amico misteriosamente scomparso in Africa?” (“Will Our Heroes Be Able to Find Their Friend Who Has Mysteriously Disappeared in Africa?”) at 4.30 tomorrow. Sunday offers a chance to see Geoffrey Rush speak in dubbed Italian in “La migliore offerta” (“The Best Offer”), the latest by “Cinema Paradiso” director Giuseppe Tornatore. Tickets are free, so give yourself plenty of time to queue up to ensure you get a decent seat. For the schedule, see ItalianFestivalThailand.com.

“Americano” – The Alliance Francaise creens free movies with English subtitles at 7.30pm every Wednesday. Next week’s show is Mathieu Demy's 2011 road-trip drama about a guy (Demy) who head to Los Angeles to take care of his late mother’s estate and then sets out in search of the mysterious woman named in her will. Chiara Mastroianni, Geraldine Chaplin and Salma Hayek (playing a stripper, naturally) also star.

The Friese-Greene Club – Bangkok’s smallest cinema has just nine seats but it looms large in the eyes of the city’s in-the-know film-lovers. Tucked away at the end of a small alley next to the Queen’s Park Imperial hotel on Sukhumvit Soi 22, the FCG is private club run by Paul Spurrier, a British filmmaker and experienced hand in the Thai movie industry. After a drink in the bar on the ground floor, you head up a spiral staircase to the well-appointed screening room. To close out this month, he’s put together a programme on “Great Directors: Early Works”, with Robert Redford’s star-studded directorial debut “Ordinary People” at 8 tonight, the Coen brothers’ hilarious black comedy “Blood Simple” tomorrow night and Mike Nichols’ Oscar-winning smash “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” on Sunday. For more details and bookings, visit www.FGC.in.th.