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♦
Wednesday,
September 20,
2006
dfdf
..REEL
DEAL
WITH GEORGE HAWKINS
“The Protector ”
MPAA Rating: R
Running Time: S4 minutes
Starring: Tony Jaa,
Petchthai Wongkamlao,
Bongkot Kongmalai,
Jing Xing and Johnny
Nguyen
For those tired of the
standard karate chop fare
and looking for a pure skull
crushing martial arts action
movie, a starch antithesis
to more Americanized
martial arts films like Jet
Li’s “Cradle 2 the Grave”
or any of the Jackie Chan
creations is the recent Thai
import “The Protector.”
Before earning a top
10 spot in US box offices,
the film was originally
produced in Thailand
where it was director
Prachya Pinkaew’s follow
up to "Ong-Bak: The
Thai Warrior,” which
was hugely successful
and introduced fans to
newcomer Tony Jaa.
In “The Protector,”
Kham (Tony Jaa) is a
young Thai man raised in
the beautiful countryside
of his home country. For
generations his family
Joads a-goin' to California!
By Yen Nguyen
Guest Writer
Moxie girl@hatmail.com
The human spirit does
not shatter as easily as
glass. Its essence is driven
by hope and endurance
to make beautiful things
come from the dark.
This timeless message
is depicted in John
Steinbeck’s American
classic, “The Grapes of
Wrath”. The West Georgia
Theatre Company will
open its 2006-07 season
with this larger than
life production of John
Steinbeck’s The Grapes of
Wrath adapted by Frank
Galati on October 4th at
7:30 pm.
Thirteen people take
a 2000 mile road trip from
Oklahoma to California
in a jalopy crammed with
all their belongings in
Steinbeck’s epic novel.
The novel tells the story
of the Joad family being
forced to leave their
Oklahoma home during
the Great Depression and
travel along Route 66,
the “Mother Road” to the
promised land of California
in hopes of a better life.
Joining them on this
exodus is their retired
preacher, Jim Casy and
thousand of oth * ' families
with no choice but to
leave.
Their journey is
disheartening and their
arrival in California
is another bitter
disappointment, but amidst
Artdbtmmm
has raised elephants,
traditionally held to be
the animals of kings,
and the family consider
themselves modern-day
Jaturungkabart—an ancient
line of extraordinary
warriors and protectors of
the king and his elephants.
Upon hearing of a
festival and contest in a
nearby city, Kham and
his father travel there
with Por Yai (their most
spectacular elephant) and
his small calf Korn. As
Por Yai is inspected by
examiners supposedly
searching for an animal
worthy of royalty, Kham
and Korn wander around
the local outdoor market.
After Kham’s father signs
some sort of document
releasing Por Yai to the
examiners, they brutally
shoot him prompting
panic in the market and
causing Kham to lose both
elephants in the crowds.
Completely devastated
and utterly enraged, Kham
bursts into a local mobster's
house and displays for
the first time in the film
his straight-out-of-the
jungle Muay Thai skills to
brutalize even the grizzliest
of criminals. Kham then
the inhuman suffering,
the novel illuminates the
majestic courage that
resides in the core of the
human heart, a lesson that
still rings true in the world
today.
“When we read of
the Joad family’s journey
from the hopelessness
of Dust Bowl Oklahoma
to the illusive utopia
ft
\\ \ i, m
i V i ______ \
The West Georgia Theater Company’s rendition of John Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of
Wrath” will run October 4th-Bth in the Townshend Center.
of California, we can’t
help but be reminded of
the victims of Hurricane
Katrina; just as victims
of one natural disaster
were called migrants, so
too were the victims of
the later natural disaster
called refugees,” said
Shelly Elman.
severely beats the head
mobster until he admits
that the animals are in the
possession of organized
crime in Sydney, Australia.
Using only a photograph
as a lead, Kham boards
a plane to the land down
under. Right outside of the
terminal, the young Thai
man is thrust into the action.
Fie, unfortunately, enters a
Photo courte.w of Rottentomatoes .com
The film world's next martial arts superstar Tony Jaa. taking a page from the Bruce Lee
book of fight scene poses. Jaa’s latest film “The Protector” showcases the same type of
Muay Thai moves as seen in “Ong Bak”, but this time ..elephants are involved.
stolen cab and is involved
in a standoff with police,
placing him immediately on
the most wanted list and onto
the evening news.
In his search for his
elephants, Kham stumbles
into the seedy world of
organized crime, politics
and backroom deals. Along
The Grapes of Wrath
is directed by Shelly
Elman with a cast of 20
students that represent
multiple ethnic and
cultural backgrounds that
reflect the diversity of
America today as well as
our campus.
Real life moments are
set to Woody Guthrie style
folk music performed by
a live group of musicians.
The sounds of the saw, jaw
harp and fiddle by Johnny
Wright, Joel Auble on his
guitar and Jimbo Wright
with his bass will evoke
the era and plight of this
distinctive American
family.
The West Georgia
the way he meets Thai
born police detective Mark
(Phetthai Wongkhamlao),
who has been framed
by corrupt colleagues
and serves as his guide.
Together, although Kham
does most of the real work,
the pair fight their way
through the organization
of stereotypical Asian mob
queen Rose (Xing Jing)
led by sadisctic and cruel
underling Johnny (Johnny
Tri Nguyen).
This film obviously hits
quality, denoted by the fact
that Quentin Tarantino(ahuge
fan of the genre) places his
name in the opening credits
as the "presenter." Further
American involvement in this
Theatre Company proudly
presents this heroic play
about human survival
on the Townsend Center
Mainstage Theatre from
October 4th-7th at 7:30
p.m. and on October Bth at
2:30 p.m.
Tickets are free for
West Georgia students
with a UWG ID and
faculty and staff receives
Photo by Artt’Ue Korsgaard
a 2 for 1 discount. Guests
can purchase tickets for
$lO each. Tickets will
be available September
25th. This production does
include mature themes and
situations.
For more ticket
information, call (678)
839-4722.
film is the Weinstein Cos., who
imported a French version.
Apparently, the company
(known for this) edited the
film heavily which causes
one of the main problems
with this film.
Although the film flows
well, with little drag or
bogging down by subplots,
there are some continuity
issues. This can probably
be attributed to the heavy
editing in the western version
as well as simple obstacles
in language and culture.
I’he action sequences
in this film simply can't be
beat. The fighting style of
Muay Thai provides lots of
acrobatics as well as knee
crushing and elbow twisting
3BSSIH iM
| it life
Sorry folks, no video
game review this week.
On the plus side, recently
announced news about
Nintendo’s newest gaming
system, the Wii, has not only
gamers' heads turning, but
also scrambling to the nearest
store to place preorders.
The Nintendo Wii will
be the first system of its kind
to utilize wireless sensors
and gyros in the controller
to simulate movement in
its games. By using the
two linked controllers
that come packaged in the
Wii, gamers can simulate
an unimaginable amount
of movements that would
correspond to the object in
the game.
As hard as it is to read
and comprehend, imagine
picking up the remote control
lcx)king Wii controller and
using it as you would a
tennis racket. By swiping the
controlleracross the tele vision
screen as the ball approaches,
the tennis game registers the
same exact movements as
in real life and sends the ball
jj .
Photo courtesy Nmtendo.com
action. Jaa is superb and
does all of his own stunts
without the aid of wires or
computer generation. Many
have already dubbed him
as good (if not better) than
Jackie Chan, Jet Li. or even
the legendary Bruce Lee. As
a side note, it was actually
after watching Lee as a
young boy that Jaa decided
to be a martial arts film star.
One of the truly bizarre
things about this film is
how closely Jaa fits the role.
Raised in the countryside the
film begins in, Jaa actually
grew' up in a family that
raised elephants and this early
experience is reflected in the
film’s scenes with elephants.
For American audiences,
"The Protector” is a treat.
Pinkawe’s gritty and rural
directorial style is distinct and,
although it takes some getting
used to, really seems to pay
tribute to the land and culture
of the east as well as the culture
of this type of film.
Another added bonus
is the surprising lack of
subtitles. They are kept to
a minimum, with only the
conversations in Thai using
them. Most of the film
is in English, due to the
fact that it’s set mostly in
Australia. But then again,
with a movie like this, w ho
cares about the dialogue?
There’s plenty of sounds of
bones breaking and tendons
snapping to make up for it!
GRADE: A
flying back over the net.
Not only would this be
great for sports games, but
the Wii could give players a
definitive edge when playing
shooting games as it is now'
possible for the controller to
be aimed like a real firearm.
Just imagine the almost
complete control of the
action as gamers load up their
favorite Hying games, racing
games, or puzzle games.
Best of all. the Wii
is completely backwards
compatible with the Nintendo
Gamecube's 500+ game
library and will even allow
gamers to buy and download
old-school favorites on
Nintendo’s online service.
Releasing with a
$250 price tag, numerous
launch games, and “Wii
Sports” included with
the system package, the
Nintendo Wii will surely
be the “it” thing this
holiday season, that is
unless gamers manage to
sell their vital organs and
save up enough to buy a
Play Station 3.