Take another walk with the Documentary Club

WHILE “THE WALK” earned plenty of accolades for its immersive acrophobia-inspiring 3D camera work, it bombed at the box office and was hit by a backlash from critics who were mostly bored by director Robert Zemeckis’ corny dramatisation of the events leading up to Philippe Petit’s 1974 high-wire stunt at New York’s World Trade Centre.
Universally, the critics who panned the non-high-wire scenes of “The Walk” urged their readers to seek out “Man on Wire”, director James Marsh’s Oscar-winning 2008 documentary on Petit’s “artistic crime of the century”.
So with “The Walk” finishing up what has turned out to be a lacklustre stint in cinemas, here comes a brilliant example of counter-programming that is also complementary from the Documentary Club, which brings in “Man on Wire” for a limited run at SF World Cinema at CentralWorld and SFX Maya Chiang Mai.
For showtimes and other details, check www.Facebook.com/|DocumentaryClubTH.

Opening

It’s that spooky time of the year when movie distributors and theatre chains try desperately to scare up cash by showing horror movies. This year’s crop of Halloween weekend releases is a mixed bag of tricks, from comedy-horror in “Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse” to occult horror in “Regression”.

For Thai horror, there’s “Mon Son Phee” (“Ghost Ship”), which has a ship’s crew freaking out over a dead woman in their hold. It’s directed by Achira Nokthet, who makes his feature debut after serving as an art director and creating fear-inspiring settings for such directors as Tanwarin Sukkhapisit and Poj Arnon. Among the screaming stars is Pongsatorn “Fluke” Sripinta, along with Sean Jindachote, Phuwadon Wetchawongsa and Akkarin Akaranithimetrath.

There’s also yet another entry in Japan’s “Grudge” franchise with “Ju-on 4: The Final Curse”. Don’t count on this actually being the “final” one.

And, if body-swap comedies are more your speed, there’s “Love Arumirai”, which has a husband and wife getting a surprise when they go to the mirror one morning. It’s released by the indie start-up Munwork Production.
But none of those are scarier than the most horrifying and insufferable of ghouls – gourmet food bloggers. They are covered in the documentary “Foodies”, which is in limited release.

Also showing
The Friese-Greene Club – Tomorrow is Halloween, so the Club is showing, well, you know. The classic slasher-horror from John Carpenter screens in an event sponsored by a beer brand and featuring spooky cocktails. Punters who show up in costume will get prizes. Shows are at 8pm. For more details, check FGC.in.th.

Alliance Francaise – Movies about climate change are scheduled for next month, starting with “Les Temps Changent” (“Changing Climates, Changing Times”), a 2008 made-for-TV movie that imagines what life will be like in the year 2075. It seems to mirror the current immigration crisis in Europe. The show is at 7pm on Wednesday. For details, check AFThailande.org.