13: Game of Death (2006)

First off this is a very unique movie, for starters dummy me, i didn't know that the movie was in Japanese, but the subtitles make it easier, this kind of reminds me of the T.V. show Fear FActor. A man is having a very bad day,, gets fired, gets his car repossed, and his g/f dumps him,, so his cell rings, and low and behold it's the answer to all of his problems, a game show offering money , for each challenge that he completes.. the challenge starts off harmlessly enough,, killing a fly,, then swallowing it.. then of course the challenges get harder and more moral choices to face.. the movie is very fast paced, and i liked it as a whole, but there were a few things that didn't make sense, like the video cameras,, it's obvious the police could have rounded him up,, if the show is airing on live T.V. the ending of the movie left me confused,, it didn't go with the flow of the whole movie,, but hey there are quite a few movies that are good,, just screw up the ending for ya,, but all in all this is a very interesting film,, that should be given a try by all.

This is a nice movie from Thailand that basically deals with the subject of movies like "Running Man", "The game" and similar movies... that is reducing life to a thrill-seeking reality show. Where "13 - game of death" starts is with salesman Pusit. His life is rather on the way down at the moment. Sales are slow for his job in a musical sales business where a colleague steals his best customers. His car gets repossessed, his mum needs to borrow money from him and it seems he still struggles with the loss of his girlfriend. To top things off his boss fires him and just as it couldn't get any worse his phone rings and someone tells him he was chosen from a pool of unlucky people who need some money to participate in a reality game show. There is no information about the show, he is just contacted by cellphone and presented with one of his 13 challenges... if he masters all 1Million Dollars is his.The first challenges start of rather harmless... Pusit has to kill a fly, then eat the fly and you can guess they crank up the demands of their challenges. Where the movie starts of in a drama/Thriller fashion it soon incorporates some comedic elements when Pusit has to go to a playground and make some children cry which is a rather odd scene. He is soon looked after by the police for beating up people and no one knows he is just following the orders given through his cellphone that has a pretty annoying car alarm sound ring-tone. Beside the comedy elements the movie tends to freak out with some gross scenes where Pusit chucks down a nicely garnished plate of poo in a restaurant or he has to get a decomposed corpse out of a well. The mixture of these offbeat elements with fights, comedy and chases is kind of interesting and different and to top it off there is a lot of social commentary in the movie. I especially like the black humor that is incorporated like when Pusit has to beat the boyfriend of his ex-girl unconscious with a chair but the guy just won't get knocked out. Every time he wants to explain to his ex-girl he has to get back to work and beat the guy again. You can guess that it soon leads to questions of life or death and the question if Pusit will become a murder for money. In the end you realize that all the challenges and the game have more in common with Pusits life than you thought and this is where the movie takes a fall. There sure are several flaws like he duration of 120 minutes which start to drag after a while or the bad English dubbing and some rather bad acting and plot holes. But the finale doesn't just keep the whole game show concept obscure but also adds elements that make absolutely no sense in how the challenges were chosen and how they monitored the whole city with Pusit running amok. If you like a littleoffbeat movies give this one a try but don't expect to much plot-wise because it really gets pretty messy in the script towards the end.Anyway, it kept me entertained for most of the time... only thing thatjust didn't get into my head was the final scene with the girl on the bench... what the hell was that supposed to mean?

This is probably the best Thai thriller I've seen so far, and I've seen a bunch. Pusit has lost just about everything, his job, his girlfriend, his home, not much left. Then out of the blue he gets a call on his cell phone, telling him he has won the right to compete on a game show, and he can make huge sums of money. The game, is to complete 13 tasks presented by the show via his cell phone, but he has to complete all 13 with money going into his account after each task is completed. Pusit decides to play and off we go on a journey with Pusit that is at times stomach churning for the audience. The first task is pretty easy and Pusit is feeling good about things, but then they start to become very intense and towards the end terrifying. I could feel the tension as this movie goes along, it's along the lines of a good Hitchcockian suspense thriller. More than one of these tasks is very shocking and brutal to say the least, but Pusit is committed and turning back means losing everything again, something he cannot do. So he's hooked, and so are we as one shocking scene after scene builds up to an excellent climax. Put this baby on your want list immediately, you'll love it. I've never seen a movie quite like this one, and it's worth multiple viewings.

Out of another great edition of FantAsia, this film received the PUBLIC'S GOLDEN PRIZE - BEST Asian FILM. A well deserved title with a well crafted storyline and fine acting.The premise of the movie is that of a deadbeat salesman who is in debt and in desperate need of money... as well as deeper needs such as love, hope, sense of purpose, etc. He gets a targeted phone call that invites him to play a secret game in order to win incremental amount of money all the way to the grand prize: 100 million bahts. At first he will have to kill an insect which he does without to much problem. The twelve other challenges are likely to be a bit more difficult to achieve in order to bank the jackpot, but this guy has nothing to lose and seems to be going along with the game as he sees money as the answer to most of his problems and pushing his limits by succeeding in this game as some well-needed sense of accomplishment.So the movie relies heavily on Krissada Terrence playing the protagonist, Pusit, and making us go through the motions and the emotions. His is a very capable actor and was well casted and directed to give a fine performance that reaches out to the sympathizing viewer. As for the rest of the cast, they are also of fine caliber. They bring to life this solid script cohesively and captivate the audience with the help of well-timed editing and a definitive storytelling know-how by screen-writer/director Ma-Deaw Chukiatsakwirakul (Chookiat Sakweerakul )Based on a comic, the transition to screen is surprisingly realistic and the story is well explored in all its humour and twisted horror. The game concept reminds us of the Saw trilogy (2004,2005&2006) and has similar elements on top of the reality TV references a la Fear Factor. At times, we are also reminded of Falling Down (1993)'s similar slow fall and emotional meltdown.Trying to conclude this wild ride is tricky and we are left with diverse elements that are not necessarily captivating or as original as the rest of the film on their own merit--nor are they out of place--, but tied together provide the base for the ending that does not disappoint.A clever movie that easily make you embark on a journey that can only be slowly but surely spiraling down. So where is the point where you lose control and what happens if someone else loses it for you?A thin line between deprived and deranged.Thailand 2006 | 113 min | 35mm Thai language (English subtitles)