Raging Phoenix: Passion in Drunkeness

In one of the more visually stunning and passion filled Muay Thai martial arts films I’ve seen, Yanin Vismistananda performs far better than I could have expected. As the leading heroine in Raging Phoenix (AKA, Jeeja Due Suai Du), Yanin shows more heart and courage (with some more brutal and flashy moves) than she did in Chocolate (although I love that movie). Panna Rittikrai does it again with some amazing stunt coordination in this one.

Deu (Yanin: also spelled Dew for some reason…) is a down and out on her luck drummer in a punk band. She has scummy boyfriends and is constantly being fooled. (She’ll say this at length in the movie.) With trust issues and an appetite for the drink, Deu gets herself in some trouble. After being chased down in a parking structure, Deu

She is both pretty and deadly.

gets away by chance with the help of a devilishly good looking and bearded Thai man (He’s also in Bangkok Knockout. I didn’t know he was one of Panna’s main boys, but Pod is in this one too… Review coming much later). He turns out to be called Sanim (Kazu Patrick Tang) and he’s good at taking down thugs with bladed kangaroo legs.

Look at that handsome man. Who wouldn’t fall for that?

With bringing her back to their hideout, Sanim encounters some unexpected collateral. Deu meets Pig Shit (Nui Saendaeng) and Dog Shit (Sompong Lertwimonkaisom), two fellow fighters with an agenda. What Deu becomes so fascinated with is a drunken style of fighting (made up for the film) known as Meyraiyuth. With montage scenes and lots of drinking, Deu and the gang take on the Jaguar Gang, a bunch of thugs looking to kidnap women just like Deu for nefarious purposes.

What I liked most about this movie was the interesting new style of fighting. Called Meyraiyuth, this badass feet of fury technique is actually an infusion. Mix classically ballin’ brutal Muay Thai finishing moves with a Capoeira dancing style that allows you to outwit your enemy and you can easily evade attacks with a lot of trauma. There are some great fight locations and a lot of newly

Pretty dope, right?

invented kicks and finishing moves that always surprise me in these Muay Thai action films. When you see one of these you expect the same old stuff, but Panna Rittikrai always has something new up his sleeve.

This was news to me too.

The acting was fine in this one, with the exception of a few actors. But that’s not what these movies are about, right? It’s about the artful technique of martial arts. It’s got the word “arts” right in there. Who cares about the plot and talking if the fans aren’t there for that? There were some cheesy CG effects and one or two strange other things, but the movie held its own as a story of love, loss, and the channeling of pain into what you do with your life. Yanin “Jeeja” sold it and it all worked out in the end.

And the end is what I wanna talk about. I’m used to these Muay Thai films with the main hero busting down hundreds of guys with lethal finishing moves, one right after the other. But this movie focused on a handful of major fighters taking on their counterparts in some long, well developed fight scenes. And that’s what makes the end so brutal. In her pain and despair, Yanin channels death into her palms and  DESTROYS the main villain. She absolutely does some of the best, most lethal moves I’ve ever seen that are actually doable in the realm of physics. I was welling up with tears with the impassioned music and the fists ripping across the screen. That doesn’t happen often, but I know when I’ve found a new favorite fight scene. So, with that in mind, I give Raging Phoenix a lethal 7.6 out of 10.

That’s a beauty. Right to your face.

The Mighty Boosh: Comedic Genius

Ice floe, nowhere to go!

Ice floe, nowhere to go! Ice floe nowhere to go! I don’t think I stopped saying this for a week straight after the first time I watched the Tundra episode of The Mighty Boosh. This show is ridiculous… ly awesome. Every episode redefines humor and every plot outdoes itself in comparison to the last. If I had to choose my favorite British television show, of those I’ve seen, my favorite would still be The Might Boosh hands down. I do love Little Britain, The I.T. Crowd, and of course Monty Python’s Flying Circus. But these all pale in comparison to the genius that is Boosh.

Each season takes place in three very distinctly different locations that use those locations to the fullest. The first season starts off as Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt’s original creations, Vince Noir and Howard Moon, two zookeepers of the Zooniverse. It was with the success of this season that the other two came into being. The second series takes place in Naboo (Michael Fielding) the Enigma’s flat, and the third series not far from there in Naboo’s boutique, eloquently named Nabootique. Using the Zooniverse as a location, a lot of the episodes focus mainly on the use of animals and adventures that are so outlandish, I laughed heartily to every one.

Howard, Vince, Bollo, Naboo, and Fossil

As far as the first season goes, Howard has to rain the pain down on a kangaroo like a monsoon. This series blows up to hilarious proportions even from just the very first episode. My personal favorite episode form the first series is the Bollo episode in which Howard is taken to monkey hell instead of Bollo by accident. In this episode, Julian plays one of two hilarious characters that he plays, the first being the mirror world protector complete with mirror balls, and Sandstorm, the sexually frustrated man of sandpaper. It’s not to say I’m giving anything away by revealing characters, each episode in itself seems to have nothing to do with any of the others.

The Jungle episode of the first season introduces one of Rich Fulcher’s (Bob Fossil, later Lester Corncrake) best characters, Tommy Nookah, the man made of cheese. Suffice it so say that although Rich Fulcher is the American man in an all British show, he has some of the most outrageous lines and characters. My roommate loves the hilarious jazz man Lester Corncrake, the most absurdly ridiculous comment on a Southern, American, old, blind, black man. It’s great. Rich’s most notable character, Bob Fossil, runs the Zooniverse underneath one of the funniest comedic British actors to ever grace the T.V., Matt Berry, A.K.A. Dixon Bainbridge. Originally meant to be played by Richard Ayoade, Richard is not left out and comes back in seasons 2 and 3 as a ridiculously awesome shaman, Saboo.

The second season kicks in with the guys, Howard, Vince, Naboo, and Bollo, all crashing at Naboo’s flat in Dalston. We have the Nanageddon episode, hilarious with a great song towards the end, great lines from Howard too. The Fountain of Youth episode reintroduces the cockney character of Noel, the most hilarious and outlandish character of the entire show, my personal favorite. But what the shows most famous for and what became a Youtube phenom was the Old Gregg character played by Noel in the second season. If you’re really interested in the show and want to see some of it, definitely check this Youtube clip out.

The third series, although apparently toned down, is no less amazing. We get a lot of the Board of Shamans along with a new batch of ridiculous characters that find their way to the Nabootique. (Along with Lester Corncrake.) There’s a great tribute to a movie I can’t recall, but it has to do something with shrinking down a human in a sub and injecting them into somebody else to cure them from some sort of disease. The great part about this is the ridiculous twist they put on it and how Noel plays all parts of himself. The show ends on a quite uneventful note with the stage performances of Howard and Vince, both respectively as a lead singer for a new mod band and for a avant garde director. I would’ve rather had the show end with the crimping episode, one of my favorite features of the show, but I guess they still had more ideas coming.

At this point, I feel as I’ve I’m rambling, talking up a show that most people will mistake as the rambling of idiots. But there’s more to the show of that. I feel like yes, it may have the distinct kind of humor most people will shake/scratch their heads at. It isn’t conventional. It’s absolutely absurd. And there’s a growing population of people out there who love it. I’d have to say that most people should give this show a chance. At least one episode. It’s well worth it. Definitely a 10 out of 10.

Here’s that scene from the Old Gregg episode I was talking about. Enjoy. Just like Bailey’s from a shoe. Creamy beige.