kick it!

last night, tmonkey invited me up to a times square multiplex to see his dojo perform before a free screening of ong bak: the thai warrior, a subtitled kick-boxing film. instructed to arrive before 6:45pm, i joined the tail end of the twisted mob that i thought was the guest list line. wait wait wait wait wait - at 7:30pm we were rewarded for our patience and herded into theater 9. it was crowded with hip hop superstars, power 105.1 banners (the cocky tsunami slanderers, right?), tongue-tied djs, ninjas, shaolin monks, hot chix (star f*ckers), and fuzzywarmsoft fur coats. at one point, dave and i were in line behind two cool cats in pristine matching white fur coats. the temptation to reach out for a stroke & a hug was successfully restrained. we still have no idea who they were. i'm sure they made more money than me though.

goody bag giveaways and late-comers ensured that the demo didn't start till 8:30 and the movie itself didn't begin until 9. the movie was a typical action flick, made a stand-out by its star, tony jaa, who kicked punched slapped hurled crushed crunched dozens of bad guys in his mission to bring back his village's stolen religious relic. mediocre script, awe-inspiring footwork, fights, and stunts.

with the clock ticking toward 10:30, i was ready for a quick c train ride home. but the djs insisted on staying for a special treat after the show and voila, tony jaa himself strolled to the front of the theater. this tiny wiry asian performed some of the routines he pulled off in the film and then brought out 6 stunt buddies to show us further evidence that the movie truly had been made computer trick/string/fx-free.

tony ran on their shoulders, brought them viciously to the ground, plowed into one with his knees (elbows and knees of STEEL!), and finished with the kicking/giveaway of an autographed popcorn bag dangling 11+ feet off the ground. he's magic. i seened it.

released in thailand in 2003, ong bak will be showing at the imaginasian theater, february 18-24. 239 E. 59th st, b/w 2nd & 3rd aves. N,R,W,4,5,6 to lexington/59th

fun fact: jim jarmusch and the rza are members of the usa shaolin temple.

update - 5:15pm - from yahoo! buzz log