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Money matters:
Graham Macdonald MBMG International Ltd.
Reasons to be cheerful?
Perennial optimist Sam Liddle, multi-award winning manager
(2004-6 Lipper Best Risk-Adjusted UK Aggressive Mixed Asset Manager/Standard &
Poors #1 ranked Global Neutral Portfolio Manager) delivered an upbeat message to
MBMG clients last month.
Sam is of the opinion that the aggressive policy of central banks cutting rates
and injecting liquidity into the system will create a favourable financial
operating environment for the global economy. Although Sam acknowledges fears
that parts of the financial system are beyond repair and that losses from credit
derivatives could run to trillions of US dollars, he believes that the credit
crisis will resolve in the near future although the interventions are too
little, too late to prevent recession or maybe even worse:
“For the first time since Japan in the 1990s, the possibility of a credit
implosion and full scale debt deflation has to be taken seriously, on a global
scale. Financial markets now face two quite distinct but closely related risks:
A US recession possibly triggering recessions in Europe and even Asia AND a
credit implosion caused by the destruction of bank capital and a collapse in the
velocity of money.”
The real fear is not just recession - which is already largely discounted by
bond and equity prices - but a credit-induced depression that is much longer and
deeper than the mild recessions of 1991/2 and 2001. A credit implosion would
make any post-recession recovery slow or even impossible, as in Japan after
1991. Sam certainly doesn’t rule this out but he doesn’t take it as read either:
“There are still bullish forces, such as unprecedented growth in Asia, enormous
monetary and fiscal easing and vast surplus savings in the Middle East. Emerging
markets offer opportunities. In the past they were seen as a warrant on global
growth. Whilst many still depend on export earnings, their domestic economies
are now expanding, providing more balance. The wealth effect of export earnings
is being re-cycled into domestic demand. Economic growth in developed economies
will be limited by an ageing population demographic in the future (nearly 20% of
Japan’s population, 12.4% of America’s and 17.5% of Eurozone citizens are over
the age of 65 and these percentages are growing). In contrast, emerging regions
have favourable demographics with the proportion of the population at retirement
age in single digits. Long after financial excess washes through the system,
population growth and rising incomes mean the world’s principal economic theme
will be the battle between excess demand and finite or limited supply.”
Sam was among the first to recognise the theme of limited supply causing a
tangible asset boom and still believes that scarcity of commodities, energy,
food, water and clean air will continue and are not just social problems but
economic and investment opportunities too. The implications are mind-boggling:
“Global population has increased 2.6 times since 1950 and is still rising fast.
Developed countries accounted for 1/3 of the then population (2.5bn). By 2005,
they accounted for less than 1/4 of a 6.5bn population. The UN predicts that by
2050 there will 9bn on Earth, more than 85% of whom will live in emerging
markets.
“In 1900, only 13% of people lived in urban areas; by 2030, it is estimated that
60% will live in towns and cities, where resource-hungry lifestyles imply
explosive demand for commodities, water and energy. The World Bank forecasts
economic growth in the next 25 years will be higher than the last 25. Poor old
Mother Earth will be screaming for a recession. Global energy demand has
increased 2.6% each year since 2000, twice the rate of the previous 20 years.
That’s just the beginning. In China, per capita consumption of oil is about
1/13th of that in America and comparable with that of Japan and South Korea at
similar stages of their economic development. Following a similar trajectory,
Chinese demand for energy will rise 10-fold in 30 years. Demand for industrial
metals will continue to outstrip supply and world energy demand will increase
50% by 2030. Food prices will continue to rise and potable water will become
scarcer. Meat consumption, in emerging economies, up 75% since 1990, continues
to increase. Government biofuels targets mean that within 15 years, 12% of the
world’s agricultural land will be needed for transport, against just 2% today.
The World Health Organisation predicts 35% of the population will live in
“water-stressed” areas by 2025. The world’s problems and opportunities are
bigger than a couple of quarters of negative growth each side of the Atlantic;
long-term investors should lift their eyes above the latest gloomy headline. The
greatest opportunities will exist when the hour is at its darkest.”
Sam re-iterated the belief that active, adaptive, impartial asset allocation is
the key to MitonOptimal’s consistent outperformance and their expectation to
continue doing so. MBMG’s iconic lead portfolio manager, Scott Campbell, will be
visiting Bangkok from June 4 - 6. Contact Todd Guest at MBMG International’s
Client Service Desk on 02 655-6044 or email [email protected] to hear
the world’s leading global portfolio manager (S&P #1 ranked performing Global
Impartial/Active Portfolio Manager) give his big picture view of the global
economy, world markets and investment opportunities at our public seminar or in
a strictly limited number of one:one meetings.
The above information is issued for general guidance and is not a solicitation
or investment recommendation. Historic data is no guarantee of future
performance and the value of some investments can fall as well as rise.
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The above data and research was compiled from sources
believed to be reliable. However, neither MBMG International Ltd nor its
officers can accept any liability for any errors or omissions in the above
article nor bear any responsibility for any losses achieved as a result of any
actions taken or not taken as a consequence of reading the above article. For
more information please contact Graham Macdonald on
[email protected]@mbmg-international.com.com
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Snap Shots: by Harry Flashman
Macro photography - should you try it?
Have you looked at the icons on the top of your newly
acquired digital camera? Does it have a thing that looks like a tulip?
If so, you are on your way to macro photography.
The simple name for macro photography is ‘close-up’ photography and
allows you to get much more detailed images of subject matters that are
very small. Obviously one does not need macro facility to photograph an
elephant, but to get the elephant’s eye and nothing else, a macro
capability in your camera would make life easier (even if not for the
elephant).
 Macro
shot of flower by Ernie Kuehnelt
There are many pitfalls in macro photography, and some are financial. If
you want a car that does 200 kph, it is easier to start with a Porsche
than it is to start with a Corolla and then modify the engine. However,
the Porsche is a lot more expensive. Likewise, true macro lenses are
more expensive than ordinary ones modified to have macro capabilities.
Having said all that, it is still possible to get close-up photographs
with some fairly simple equipment, with the easiest being called
‘close-up lenses’ that screw on to the front of your existing lens.
These usually have numbers like +1, +2, +4. The +number refers to the
diopter measurement of the lens and the higher the number, the greater
the magnification possible. The dioptre measurement is the reciprocal of
the focal length of the lens measured in meters. Therefore a +1 diopter
lens is 1 meter focal length, a +2 is 500 mm and a +4 is 250mm. These
add-on lenses are available in a variety of filter sizes and qualities.
If you don’t wish to get heavily involved then a set of uncoated
close-up lenses to fit your favorite lens is the way to go. Coated
close-up lenses cost more and will yield a better image, and two element
close-up lenses (much more expensive) will give better results but you
need to be a dedicated macro man.
The effect of these close-up lenses increases as you add them together.
The +1 and the +2 screwed together will yield +3. However you come
across another problem when you start ganging them up - the focal length
gets smaller and the light that gets into the camera becomes less.
Understand that in all macro photography as the lens gets closer to the
subject and the image gets larger on the film, the light reaching the
film is lessened. Also the depth of field gets very shallow and to
combat this, very small apertures are called for which lessens the light
to the film even more. Both these things in combination mean that normal
hand held exposures are usually out of the question. A tripod is needed
for steadiness plus flash is needed in nearly every circumstance to give
decent illumination. However, as you strive to get closer to the
subject, there may not be enough distance to get the flash to light the
subject. A ring flash can help here, but that is another expense.
There is another way around this and that is to use a light box. Now
these can be purchased from specialized camera suppliers and do cost
money, but you can make your own light box very inexpensively. The
secret is a large cardboard box and some tracing paper, but go to this
website and it is all explained http://www.strobist.blogspot.
com/2006/07/how-to-diy-10-macro-photo-studio.html.
So there you have it. If you have a macro lens in the camera, then
experiment with how close you can get to your subject. If you haven’t,
then try screwing the close-up lens on the front. I find the +3 the best
for my camera gear. The biggest problems are short depth of field and
lighting; however, none of these are insurmountable.
Try it today, after you have built the light box!
Modern Medicine:
by Dr. Iain Corness, Consultant
The Ageing process - and how to beat it
There are many retired British ex-pats in Thailand, and with
the cost of living and the dreadful climate in the UK (summer fell on a
Tuesday last year), do you blame them for seeking a warmer retreat for their
dotage? But is everyone over the age of 65 really dottled? Simple answer,
No! But those of you over 65 will have found that the younger generation
tries to push you into that retired person’s home category. Here we are -
waiting to die!
Here is an example, a few years ago, my eldest son (then 29 years old and a
strapping 6’6”) and I went to the UK to visit my dear old Mum and my sister.
While there we decided that father and son might like to go and explore the
nightlife in the fairly large city close to my sister’s rural retreat. Upon
asking where we should go in town for some drinks and dancing, I was told by
my junior sibling, “Oh there’s nothing for you there!” “What do you mean?” I
replied. “You’re too old!” was the answer. Resisting an immediate urge to
give her a clip behind the ear for insolence I said, “But what about him?”
pointing to 6’6” of youth and enthusiasm. “Oh he’s too old too,” was the
response!
What a sad indictment of today’s world! At 29 years of age, this young
fellow was considered to be too old to go out and enjoy himself? Of course,
for me at age 60+, it was practically sinful to even contemplate it!
There is an unfortunate tendency in the western world to write everyone off
after the age of 25 it seems, you don’t have to wait till you are 65 to be
redundant. But why should this be? The only real difference between “old”
people and “young” people is that the older group have much greater
experience. There is precious little of substance worth doing that older
people cannot do. And I am not talking here about people over the magic (and
arbitrary) 65 year retiral age. I am talking about anyone still wandering
around the planet unaided, no matter how old they are. For example, if you
are 80 years old and want to do a parachute jump, can anyone tell me why
not?
The reason I say this, is that by the time a person is 80 years old, they
have a fair idea of what they can or cannot do. After all, they’ve had that
same body for eight decades, they must know it pretty well by now. The
problems you come up against when deciding to do something is not usually a
“physical” restraint, but a mental one. You get conditioned by the western
society that you are ‘over the hill’ and you must sit in the corner and
quietly rot away.
Well, that’s exactly what will happen to you if you do sit quietly in the
corner! Like any living creature, you need stimulation (and I’m not talking
about the ‘stimulation for hire’ bars), and mental stimulation will get you
going physically as well. Forget about your chronological age and think
about things that you want to do - and then work out how you are going to do
these things.
Obviously, if you are 80 years of age and you tell me that you want to run a
mile in four minutes, this is not only impossible, but it is silly! However,
if you tell me you want to take up running and want to train for the
marathon, I will say, “Go ahead!” I might suggest starting off with shorter
distances and work on from there, but the concept is the same - if you want
to do something - go ahead and do it.
Do not accept “age” as a barrier to anything. Work out how to do it and get
on with it. Live life to the fullest, every day, for as many days as you
have got left! And there is nobody on this earth can tell you how long that
will be, not even Gypsy Petulengro.
 Heart to Heart with Hillary
Dear Hillary,
It amuses me when I read some of the letters that men send to you complaining
about how the bar girls that move in with them seem to always want more money.
You live with a bar girl until you are ready to move on or tired of being an
ATM. You guys have it easy. I have been married to a Thai woman for 8 years.
When I met her she worked in a hospital, I guess you would call her a non-bar
girl. Here’s my point; I have spent much more money since being married than I
ever did when I had bar girl friends. When you marry a Thai girl, you also marry
the entire family. My wife has six sisters, all married with kids. They never
ask me for money, however, when I see that one of the them is having a hard
paying off the bank loan because the rice crop was flooded out, a nephew or
niece needs money for school, a brother-in-law is laid up in the hospital
because one of his bulls kicked him, or another bother-in-law drives around in
an old rusted out Mazda P/U while I drive a New Nissan P/U and our house is paid
for, I help them. Do you think I turn my back on them and “move on”? The eight
years I’ve been married to my Thai wife are the best years of my life and I hope
for many more. Although I respect and admire the bar girls - theirs is not an
easy life, they are just trying to survive - I will never go back to that kind
of life.
Uncle Bill
Dear Uncle Bill,
Why didn’t you wait for me? I am having a hard time paying off a bank loan
(tried to buy 50 kg of rice the other day and it was more than my salary, so I
approached the bank for a food mortgage), and I have a rusty old bicycle as I
can’t afford a pick-up (but I avoid bulls at all costs). You have also correctly
described the Thai families (that you marry into) - they are not (despite claims
to the contrary) all standing in line with their hands out. They are ordinary
people, who look after each other when needed. You sound like such a nice man,
my Petal, I shall cry myself to sleep tonight having missed you. However, I am
so happy to hear you are enjoying the “best years of my life”, and yet do
understand the plight of the bar girls. Or rather, the trade of the bar girls,
as they are not forced into working from around a chrome pole - they choose that
existence. “Plight” is how they promote it, looking for (several) kind hearted
gentlemen (ATM’s) to give them their pin numbers and fantastic plastics. Stay
well, Uncle Bill.
Dear Hillary,
Is that Tim guy for real, who wrote in last week asking how to transfer big wads
of money to his ever-faithful sweetheart? He has fallen into the Thai trap of
bringing everything back to financial terms. “You love me? Give me 20,000 baht.
You really, really love me? Give me 40,000 baht. You love me forever? Give me
100,000 baht!” Relationships are not based on money, but on trust and that
wonderful emotion called love. Not infatuation, which is the bar girl’s stock in
trade. These old dudes start believing the lies that this 18 year old has fallen
in love with him, so “just send me some money honey and I’ll leave the bar and
go back to the village and wait for you coming next year.” So the infatuated
dork sends the money over to his “sweetheart”, so that she doesn’t have to spend
her nights going to bed with the endless supply of old losers like him. Hillary,
you did try and warn him, but I think you should have just told him to stop
being an idiot and wake up to himself. Remember “You can take a girl out of the
bar, but you can’t take the bar out of the girl!”
Telling it straight
Dear Telling it straight,
I think you are being a bit hard on Tim, my Petal. There have been many
relationships between bar girls and older “sponsors” which have worked well for
both parties. The problem is getting the Tims of this world to understand that
it is a two-way street. She gets the benefit of an income, while he gets the
benefit of the company of a lovely young girl. That works well for foreigners
living here, but I don’t think it works as well for the ones living overseas and
coming over for their three week holiday each year. It really is asking too much
of the girl that she gives up all opportunities of gaining money for the other
11 months + 1 week. Would you? If there is money to be made, then why not? Even
100,000 baht a month does not guarantee faithfulness, when the relationship is
only based on money, I agree. And always remember, “You can lead horse to drink,
but you can’t make it water!”
Learn to Live to Learn: with Andrew Watson
Esther Benjamins Trust: a moment to talk
It had been a gruelling schedule for Camilla Kinchin,
fundraising coordinator of the Esther Benjamins Trust (EBT), a
charity with which regular readers of this column will, I hope,
be familiar. Three intensive, but ultimately satisfying days
talking with students aged between ten and eighteen about the
work of the charity were coming to an end. I had been attempting
to grab more than just a moment with Camilla and in the late
afternoon of her last day with us, we finally found the time to
talk further.
 A
rescued child creates a work of art full of hope and life.
The children rescued by EBT (www.ebtrust.org.uk) come from very
poor backgrounds and are taken from their homes to the circus at
a very early age. What are the main aims of EBT? “The main aims
are to help Nepalese children and young people who are
marginalised or discriminated against within their society. The
programmes are organised with this in mind; a range of small
projects which are focused on saving children.”
A regular question from the classroom sessions had been whether
parents actually sold their own children. The reply was
disconcerting, to say the least; “Well yes, that’s how the
majority of them end up in the circus. What happens is that a
trafficker will go into one of the villages, one of the very
poor villages to the south of Kathmandu, a regrettably easy
gateway for the trafficking worlds and ...” I interrupted,
finding it difficult to imagine how traffickers can just wander
into villages and dupe poverty stricken parents into parting
with their children. Unless the local or regional government is
involved in keeping the whole thing “hushed up” in some way?
Camilla’s response was diplomatic; “I think they are
increasingly aware of what’s happening, but that’s a lot to do
with the work of the NGOs and some of the advocacy work we are
doing in Nepal. But it’s also true that there are a lot of
political problems in Nepal which make it harder for us to do
the work. In India there are problems with the police actually
being involved with the circuses. Consequently the rescue
operations can be quite difficult, especially if the police have
a hand in it.” It seems unconscionable that those who should be
assisting are actually involved in this twenty first century
slave trade. Or was I just being naďve? “There is a lot of
corruption,” confirmed Camilla.
 Happiness
reflected in the smile - and the mosaic!
We had previously touched on the subject of the actual rescues,
with all the attendant dangers. It must take seriously brave
people to take the initiative? Camilla nodded, “The main rescue
staff are actually former circus employees, so they know what it
means to work for the circuses and they are all very passionate
about what they do. The rescue operations can take a couple of
weeks … often the parents know in which circus their children
are likely to be, so two members of the staff go to the circus
with the parents, to India. It may take a couple of weeks to
actually find the circus as they tend to move around and change
name as they go. Then they demand the return of the children.”
Often, it’s not quite that easy. Intimidation and violence
towards the rescuers are by no means uncommon. But bringing them
back to Nepal is just the start, as Camilla explained, “Once
they’re back in Nepal, it’s an added challenge for us to make
sure they are rehabilitated successfully. Some NGOs might give
the children a sewing machine, which for the NGO might mean that
they have basically been rehabilitated, but of course there is
much more to rehabilitation than that. There’s a girl with us
now called Anita. She’s 26 and was trafficked in 1991. She’d
been there for sixteen years … sixteen years in the circus. So
she’d never had an education, just lived a life of ruthless
beatings, abuse and constant training.” Clearly, young people
like Anita need an enormous amount of after-care and support.
“But now at the age of 26 she can finally start her life.”
A real story about a real person often brings the gruesome
reality of tragic and unnecessary suffering in life, to life.
It’s all very well listening to facts and figures, the
statistical analysis if you will, but in order to learn to live
to learn, in order to develop empathy, it seems that we need to
hear personal stories. After all that the children have been
through, how do they respond to the after-care? What are they
like? Camilla smiled, “They seem so happy. What came out of
their interviews with our psychologists was [in the first
instance] quite shocking, but the strength with which they get
on with their lives and put them back together again is
incredible. They are remarkably courageous. They look so happy.
I really think they are very brave.”
But in this often immoral world of ours, there are inevitably
sceptics, who wonder why they should bother, who openly question
why they should care. In school, a bright 16-year-old student
had quite honestly admitted that he felt little sympathy towards
trafficked Nepalese children. How can we reach the hearts and
minds of young people like this? I asked. Camilla was typically
generous, perhaps just realistic, in her response; “It’s true,
it’s hard. At least, I find it quite hard to fully understand
myself the level of suffering experienced by trafficked
children. I think it’s natural for a young person to wonder why
it’s got anything to do with them.” Especially if their own
lives are comfortable and safe, I added. “But if humanity cannot
care for humanity, who else will?” concluded Camilla.
It was time for Camilla Kinchin to return to Nepal, to continue
the courageous, selfless and enduring work of the Esther
Benjamins Trust, transforming the lives of young people whose
happiness had hitherto been hijacked by unscrupulous, evil
individuals. For the four hundred and twenty students who had
been fortunate enough to meet and talk with Camilla over three
intensive days, the one remaining question was simple, proactive
and voiced in unison, “What can we do now?”
Next week: Form follows function, follows passion.
DOC ENGLISH Teaching your kids how to learn English:
Looking at techie ways
to improve English
Hello and welcome to the latest Doc
English column! This week we go all techie, once again looking at ways
to improve English online.
If your children have native English language speaking children to play
with, then they will be very motivated to learn English. It may be hard
to find them English speaking friends who share their interests and who
are equally interested in learning from them!
Your child may have aspirations to one day visit a foreign country and
use their English language. Learning about Western cultures is equally
as important as learning the English language itself. By chatting with
Western (or other English speaking) students from around the world, your
child will find out the real purpose behind learning English - not to
pass exams, but to communicate with others and learn about new
countries, cultures and beliefs.
A way to find opportunities for
language and cultural exchange could be waiting for you online.
These days we have to be careful about protecting who our children come
into contact with on the internet, so first you will need to set up the
ability to monitor your child’s email and internet access. You will need
to be able to filter out spam and other inappropriate messages.
You might wish to install Net Nanny (http://www.netnanny .com/) or one
of the many software applications that allow you to easily monitor your
child’s activities on the internet. You may also wish to regularly check
your child’s email account so as to filter out inappropriate email.
ZooBuh (http://www.zoobuh .com/) is a great web site that gives you the
ability to control and monitor their children’s activities from
anywhere. You can monitor email that they send and receive, filter swear
words, any other nastiness.
ZooBuh can also help your child learn how to use a computer, learn how
to type, improve spelling and communication skills and help you restrict
what they can view on the net. ZooBuh is fairly cheap and has a 1 month
free trial to get you started.
Epals (http://www.epals .com/) offers a similar package and is
particularly useful for teachers as it allows you to get in touch with
teachers and schools around the world. After posting my school on the
Net, I got loads of replies from teachers in schools, eager to learn
about Thai culture, share English, work on collaborative classroom
projects and have fun online! I found the other teachers on Epals very
enthusiastic about partnering with Thai Schools.
Teachers looking for whole classes to exchange with should also check
out Students of the World (http://www.studentsoftheworld.info), which
contains a large searchable database of schools and students.
Circle of Friends is a site for girls only, with bad word and personal
information filters (http://members. agirlsworld.com). It is difficult
for you to personally monitor the message content, however.
For adults, try English Baby! (http://www.englishbaby.com). English Baby
is a great site for meeting friends and swapping English. English Town
(www.englishtown.com) is also pretty good. Everyone I’ve met on it has
been really friendly. If you speak English fluently already, why not
join these sites and help others learn English? You can find out how
people live in another country and carry out a cultural exchange. Get
the latest gossip from another country!
That’s all for this week ladies and gentlemen. If you have any links
you’d like published, please email them to me. If you want an
independent school review, please email me at: docenglishpattaya@gmail.
com and I will pay them a visit. Enjoy spending time with your kids.
Let’s go to the movies:
by Mark Gernpy
Now playing in Pattaya
Juno: US Comedy – Juno discovers she’s pregnant, and is
forced to grow up fast. This one is not to be missed! If you think a
film about an unwed teen with an unwanted pregnancy is not at all
something you’d be interested in, think again. I’ve seen it, and I’m
telling you, this is the brightest and funniest comedy to come along in
a long time, and it will completely win you over, I guarantee it! The
biggest joy is the writing: the dialogue is unique, from a person with a
refreshing point of view on life. The screenplay won the Oscar. Reviews:
Universal acclaim.
Speed Racer: US Action/Drama – Basically a family film based on
the classic anime series created by anime pioneer Tatsuo Yoshida, about
a boy who was born to race cars, filmed almost entirely in front of a
green screen, with the backgrounds and foregrounds added later. The film
is brimming with superb special effects that are technically inventive
and seductively surreal, with a sweet plot, and some thrilling races.
John Goodman and Susan Sarandon play the parents, and Korean Heartthrob
“Rain” plays a competing driver. Generally negative reviews. But I think
it is a milestone of a motion picture, extraordinary in the details of
its universe.
Yes, I think it’s some kind of great innovation of a film, but that
doesn’t mean it’s comfortable viewing. Most critics and most viewers
have found it intolerably irritating, but then I think that the very
things that make a work great are initially irritating – the world just
slowly gets used to them over time.
The Wachowski brothers had complete control over this movie. They wrote
it and directed it, and had final say in everything. It’s completely
their vision. What did they set out to do?
1. Make a family movie. They did; it’s PG rated, with no swearing, no
fart jokes. We’re shown a 60’s US family in a supersaturated suburban
home which is heartwarming, and hilarious in its meticulous details;
like a sitcom come to vibrant-hued life.
2. Faithfully recreate the original 60’s anime series and subsequent
comic books and TV series (both Japanese and US), which ran for years.
They have been huge fans of “Speed Racer” in all of its forms since they
were kids. Though being faithful limited them as to what they could do,
they did it: The characters look and act exactly like their anime
counterparts.
3. Present it all with innovative filmmaking techniques and new-era
visuals. They certainly did. The movie is chock full of sights never
before seen on screen, which will require several viewings to begin to
appreciate.
Iron Man: US Action/Adventure – Superb popular entertainment. A
huge hit in the US and around the world, not only with the public, but
with the critics and reviewers as well. Indeed, I think they got
everything right in this movie for once, and I’m sure you’ll like it
very much.
The difficult and driven actor Robert Downey Jr. plays Tony Stark, a
wealthy industrialist who builds an armored suit in order to escape his
terrorist kidnappers, and ultimately decides to use its technology to
fight against the evil use of weapons that he himself created. Downey is
simply brilliant in the role, and he gets truly excellent support from
Terrence Howard and Jeff Bridges. Generally favorable reviews.
Did you see Samuel L. Jackson in the film? In the role of Nick Fury?
Portents of things to come in the sequels.
Nim’s Island: US Adventure/Family – An exhilarating and
enchanting family picture about a smart, independent 11-year-old who
lives with her microbiologist father on a remote island. An exhilarating
and enchanting family picture with a delightfully funny performance by
Jodie Foster. Mixed or average reviews.
Phobia/See-prang: Thai Horror – Four quite good horror stories by
four Thai directors. Quite well done.
The “In the Middle” segment is about the four young guys out camping,
and bedded down for the night telling ghost stories, and I like it very
much. I thought the interactions of the four boys throughout were
natural and fun.
I also liked the fourth story, “Last Fright,” about a very
self-controlled flight attendant and her interactions with a Middle
Eastern princess, both alive and dead, on her specially chartered
flights. The attendant loses it all to madness as she is ultimately left
alone in the airplane with a corpse. Much dialogue in English.
The Forbidden Kingdom: US Action/Adventure – I thoroughly enjoyed
this loving homage to every martial arts movie ever made, done with a
great sense of humor and style by the legendary Jackie Chan and Jet Li.
Though filmed in English, it’s only shown here in a Thai-dubbed version.
Scheduled for May 22
Indiana Jones: The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: US
Adventure/Action – The one you’ve been waiting for! Indy is back, older
and wiser.
Girl of the week
Samantha Franklin is
currently 10 years old. Hobbies: TaeKwonDo
(Senior Red belt), Jazz dancing with sister
Tukata, and recently had her first golf lesson
at the Diana Golf Academy, Diana Garden Resort.
An avid reader, Samm loves school. She first
appeared in the Pattaya Mail’s Girl of the Week
column approximately 10 years ago. Her dad is
very proud of her. (Recent photo by Star-Photo)
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