The Blue Hour (Onthakan, อนธการ), indie director Anucha Boonyawatana's much-acclaimed gay murder mystery, is due for release on DVD and streaming platforms on March 8 in the U.S., where Strand Releasing picked up the rights.

And Strand had three copies of the DVD to give away. And they were quickly snapped up.

Here's more about it from Strand Releasing:

The Blue Hour is a sexy supernatural love story about a bullied loner, Tam, who finds solace in the arms of Phum, a boy he meets at a haunted swimming pool. Phum reveals that his family’s land has been stolen and the newfound lovers imagine a perfect life together on the disputed land. Haunted by a ghostly presence, Tam struggles to stay connected to reality. An official selection of the Berlin International Film Festival, The Blue Hour is a dark atmospheric tale of love and distress.

I thought it was pretty good, and included The Blue Hour among the best Thai films I saw last year.

There's a trailer, embedded below.

The New York Asian Film Festival is on with two acclaimed Thai films in the lineup, both making North American premieres – the psychological thriller Countdown and the gritty crime drama Gangster (Antapal, อันธพาล).

I had a pair of tickets to each film to give away to the first readers who e-mailed me. Congratulations to Danni, who wanted to see Gangster, and Sisouvanh, who got the tickets to Countdown.

Countdown shows on July 3 at 10.20pm and Gangster is on July 4 at 8.15, both at the Walter Reade Theater at Lincoln Center.

Directed by Nattawut Poonpiriya, Countdown is feature-length remake of a short the director did as a student in New York. It won numerous awards in Thailand this year, especially for the performance by David Asavanond. Here's the festival synopsis for Countdown:

An acclaimed Thai horror movie about three Thai hipsters in New York City who make a big mistake when they call an evil American drug dealer named Jesus to provide their needs for a New Year’s Eve party. Along with the drugs, Jesus supplies a psychological game involving violence and torture as the clock counts down to the New Year.

Gangster, directed Kongkiat Khomsiri, is spun from another thread of the stories of Dang Bireley's young gangsters who ran Bangkok's underworld in the 1950s and '60s. It features a smoldering performance by Krissada Sukosol Clapp as the old-school gangster Jod. Here's the festival synopsis:

Thailand’s answer to Goodfellas, Gangster is a fact-based tale with documentary segments in which old-timers are interviewed and talk about the young gangsters of 1950s and ’60s Thailand. The film focuses on Jod, a gangster who has been sent to jail following the military coup, which brings new order to the streets. In their neighborhood, a uniformed officer named Neung rules like a dictator and is a frequent thorn in the side of Jod’s gang. When he emerges from prison, Jod is a changed man, now determined to set things right. But, knowing no other life, he returns to his old gangster ways with his old crew.

The 12th New York Asian Film Festival runs from June 28 to July 15.

The New York Asian Film Festival is back this year with one Thai film in the line-up: Panna Rittikrai's stunt extravaganza B.K.O: Bangkok Knockout (โคตรสู้ โคตรโส, Koht Soo Koht Soh).

Here's what the NYAFF folks have to say about it:

Tony Jaa’s mentor, Panna Rittikrai, will school you now. This exploitation stunt-tacular features all his best stuntmen and women unleashing muay thai, capoeira, dirt bike fu, shovel beatdowns, fights on fire, fights in the water, fights under trucks, fights in mid-air, and two back-to-back climactic smackdowns that have to be seen to be believed.

Bangkok Knockout is playing at 12:15pm on Saturday, July 2 and at midnight on Saturday, July 9 at the Walter Reade Theatre of the Film Society of Lincoln Center.

Courtesy of NYAFF and Variance Films, I had two pairs of tickets to give away. The operative word here now is had. They are gone. Better luck next year if you weren't fast enough on the draw to get them.

The New York Asian Film Festival runs from July 1 to 14 at the Lincoln Center and at the Japan Society.

Ong-Bak 2: The Beginning opens in U.S. cinemas this Friday, October 23, and to celebrate, distributor Magnet has posters signed by star and director Tony Jaa to give away to U.S. readers of this blog.

They went to the first two people from the U.S. to e-mail me: The first was Ryun Patterson in Chicago and the second was Kathie Smith in Minneapolis-St. Paul.

Congratulations, and thanks for reading!

Sorry, this giveaway was for U.S. residents only. The posters will be mailed out by Magnet's representatives.

Belatedly following up on the contest I ran for free tickets to the screenings of King Naresuan I and King Naresuan II at the New York Asian Film Festival, there were just two winners.

Congratulations to Lizardcha, who got to see Naresuan I and Melvin who won a pair of tickets to Naresuan II.

They were the only ones to send e-mails in response to the contest question: What is the name of the actor who portrays the monk-mentor figure of Naresuan?

The answer is, of course: Sorapong Chatree. He's the longtime leading leading man of many of director MC Chatrichalerm Yukol's films.

Courtesy of the festival, I actually had six pairs of tickets in all to give away. Perhaps the question was too hard? Truth be told, I suppose any e-mail with at least a guess might have been a winner. Hopefully there will be a next time.

Naresuan I was shown on June 25 and 29, which the sequel, Naresuan II was shown June 29 and 30.

I've come across one review of Naresuan I, which was making its North American premiere at the festival. Here's an excerpt from the review by Keith Uhlich on Ugo.com:

Much like his previous genesis-of-Thailand epic Suriyothai, Prince Chatrichalerm Yukol's King Naresuan 1, the first installment in a trilogy of films about the 16th-century ruler of Siam, is something of a dull slog, both an extended checklist and (one also senses) a scrubbed-up journey through a should-be-fascinating historical moment. This could be due to Naresuan 1's placement as the trilogy's originating episode - there are plot threads and objects of interest (most especially a six foot long, precious-stones encrusted rifle) that will obviously come to the fore in future films - while its numerous political and social machinations would probably only stoke the fires of those more in the cultural know.

Meanwhile, the Subway Cinema blog has been spotlighting the dry-erase marker Rembrandt who has been making elaborate, ephemeral artwork to direct NYAFF patrons to their cinemas. The renderings of the various films have taken on a more elaborate, epic-like quality as the festival has progressed. So the blood-spattered face of King Naresuan is more detailed, but I still like the fact that gun-toting Mum Jokmok from The Bodyguard and Bodyguard 2 was captured as well.

The New York Asian Film Festival is running until July 6.

More information:

• King Naresuan synopsis at NYAFF 2008 website
• The Bodyguard and The Bodyguard 2 synopsis at NYAFF 2008 website