The King Maker (2005)

My DVD box calls her "Yossanadee Hassadeevicht," the movie credits bill her as "Yoe Yossawadee," and IMDb dubs her "Yoe Hassadeevichit," but by any name, a weed is a weed is a weed, so when Yoe's Queen Sudachan's head appears on a pike in the upper right corner of the final shot, viewers of THE KING MAKER will sigh that it's about time this dandelion was decapitated. This probably is one of the five most expensive Thai films ever; it's tragically comical that the producers did not spend the extra thousand to hire a professional loop group, opting to dub this sometimes visually stunning pix with pidgin English, instead. The only thing that could have made this effort more ludicrous would be to have Yoe waltzing with her hired ninja assassins to the strains of "I Could Have Danced All Night" from the far more accomplished THE KING AND I (which is also "based on a true story" from Siamese history).

Unfortunately, this has been showing on Star Movies here in Thailand for the last week or so. It's complete rubbish acting. As another member said, this movie is a good example of 'how not to act.' I haven't seen a movie so poorly acted in a long time. The actors (can you call them 'actors'?) are completely flat and deliver their lines with the passion of a dead dog. I would say that in order to truly understand how bad the acting is, you would have to see the movie... but that would be akin to torture.I cringe as the leading lady delivers her lines, and the rest of the cast with their accents (fake or contrived) is equally heinous. Another actress with the fake British accent was pretty, yes, but good lord was her accent terrible. Mix that with her (lack of) acting and you have a disaster. She should just have said nothing and I could have accepted her as the pretty girl. Oh my, we just got to the scene where the leading lady's lover says "Really me?" after a forced crying scene from her. Laughable. No, really, I just laughed out loud.The sets and the art directors offer some saving grace to the film. Some of the sets are colorful and some of the scenes are rather nice (minus the actors).The old magic potion lady? What?! Another member mentioned the 'modern' love song that was in the movie. Totally inappropriate for a period piece set some 500 years ago.I understand the movie was considered 'Big Budget' in Thailand at the time of it's production. I would be seriously upset if I were the producer of this movie. Just goes to show that money does not necessarily make a good (or even mediocre) film.I would give the King Maker a 1 out of 10, but the costumes and sets make save the film from such a rating. 2 out of 10.

This is a movie which attempts a retelling of Thai history, set in the ancient city of Ayutthaya. I decided to watch this film because I thought it was along the lines of many Thai films I've watched and enjoyed, one that has Thai actors speaking Thai and martial arts craziness. Well, it's none of that. This film is shot entirely in English, is chock full of Anglo actors, and has production values so terrible it is laughably bad....but not funny! Who can we blame for this rubbish? The acting, dialog, and most of the sets were quite bad. Some of the fight scenes looked like they were choreographed by the local high school drama club. The special effects were also mostly bad, but a few were just cheap animation patched onto the screen that provided an especially cheesy effect. It has one large, epic-style outdoor battle scene, where a few thousand extras get to run across a field in costume, but when we see the two armies collide in combat--HA! What a joke! The film does feature a couple of beauties. What a pity they didn't show a little more skin. At least that would have been something for the guys to appreciate. Don't bother.

A fabulous film. With everything you could want in a film. Huge battle scenes and lots of other action. Suspense, and a romantic love story. Kind of like an old swashbuckler film. Totally entertaining from start to finish. The editing was fast and you are never bored for a second. The story is like a classic story of trouble in the Royal Household. The actors are beautiful and the sets magnificent. The costumes are spectacular and the stunt work is imaginative. The special effects are amazing too.Gary Stretch is really impressive as an actor and gorgeous to look at. He looks like a sure bet for Super Stardom. John Rhys-Davies is wonderful as he usually is. He is one of the great actors of our time.And Cindy Burbridge, Ex Miss Thailand is excellent and perfect for the leading lady, even doing an English accent with remarkable success. I found out that the film has won numerous awards, and i can see why.All in all this is an amazing Independent film. See it for sure. I highly recommend it. And give it a TEN +!!!