G & Ollie Chang the Nangs
Dano, a RPCV from Group 134, wrote a cool article about his movie-going experience in Thailand. Oliver (136 YinD) and I both are about to reach 30 movie theatre experiences since coming to Thailand. We’ll copy Dano’s format and rank these movies, nang (หนัง), on a one to five “chang” [ช - ช้าง = Chang/elephant or เบียร์ช้าง = Chang beer — I am not sure which chang he is referring to, 555] scale (ช-ชชชชช). He also asserted there should be a coveted “golden chang”, which is reserved for the best of the best. Here we go!
Gretchen Evans, 136 YinD and Oliver Michalak, 136 YinD
G Changs the Nangs:
(And uses obscure movie references while doing so)
THE GOLDEN CHANG… My #1:
Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair: ชชชชช
Maybe this is unfair because no other movie stood a chance. I have told my parents to relay to my brother that I would like to be buried (not buried alive) in my Kill Bill shoes. I love this movie, and to see both parts together, as Tarantino intended, was a true joy. I was kicking my feet in the theatre. I was giggling, guffawing, the whole shebang. When I first heard of this theatrical release last year, I was under the impression it was limited to the States. I was quite devastated. But then, after seeing The Odyssey, I noticed the Kill Bill: TWBA promotion. You just know I ran to the cinema. On this watch, I also noticed Uma Thurman wears a second pair of Ontisukas in the film. Purely coincidental, but I also own this style! Now I just need the skills of The Bride, and I am basically B****** K****.
2. Sinners: ชชชชช
Beautiful. I loved everything about this movie. The deeper meaning. The surface-level vampire awesomeness. The music. Hailee being hot. Michael B. Jordan being hot x2. Didn’t love some of the discussions surrounding this movie, but when I tuned out the noise, I think it is easy to say I have found a movie from the wonderful year of 2025 that will go down in my top 20 fav movies of all time.
3. One Battle After Another: ชชชชช
Maybe because it’s Leonardo Dicaprio as “Unc” again, but this movie and degree of greatness gave me the same vibes as Once Upon A Time in Hollywood. The storytelling aspect of this movie and conclusion had me walking out of the theatre thinking, “Did this just top Sinners?” Ultimately, no because MBJ is hot.
4. Project Hail Mary: ชชชชช
Ryan Gosling in glasses? Ryan Gosling, funny? Ryan Gosling and Rocky’s relationship. This movie brought me so much joy. Now I need to read the book!
5. The Odyssey: ชชชชช
First and foremost, I loved the soundtrack. I loved how this movie made me feel like I was truly watching something epic. I liked this new interpretation and exploration of what it means to carry something as heavy as PTSD. In the real world, I am an advocate for bringing awareness to veterans dealing with this. I think this is an interesting take as to why Odyesseus took so damn long to get home!
6. The Drama: ชชชชช
Zendaya. Robert. You guys ate down. I think I may like this movie more than Challengers? Okay, maybe not. But what a great think piece, an entertaining conversation starter for sure. (Not ranked above The Odyssey because the soundtrack for the latter is superior)
7. Spider-Man: Brand New Day: ชชชชช
A perfect super hero movie. Great acting from Zendaya, again. The Hulk being The Hulk in the best way – his sheer size in this one felt comic book-accurate. Tom Holland’s glow up is also worth gawking over– I mean seeing! Almost stole a Chang from this nang because the official Sony Pictures account teased an Olivia Rodrigo song feature… (side eye— whoever’s on marketing has spiders for brains).
8. Disclosure Day: ชชชช
A good movie concept, great acting, and an even better message.
9. The Sheep Detectives: ชชชช
So light-hearted and fun to watch. Maybe because of confirmation bias, but there was something about the way this was shot that you could tell it was an Amazon MGM production.
10. Thunderbolts*: ชชช
A good superhero movie with a relatable message for Peace Corps Volunteers on the power of community and how it can combat loneliness.
11. Wuthering Heights: ชชช
Beautiful dresses, good soundtrack, and Jacob Elordi. All 6’5 of him.
12. Gladiator II: ชชช
Connell and his chain in chainmail this time. Was this story necessary? No, but I am not complaining because… Paul.
13. Weapons: ชชช
Woah this one was nuts.
14. Obsession: ชชช
Also nuts. Interesting premise.
15. Zootopia 2: ชชช
Cool world building.
16. Mickey 17: ชชช
Robert Pattinson being weird. I want to read the book now.
17. Backrooms: ชชช
Creepy. Look at this horse at the top of a wat in Ratchaburi.
Straight outta backrooms, no?
18. Masters of the Universe: ชชช
I loved the style of this movie. So cool, so nostalgic. Sometimes I was taken out of it because I couldn’t unsee Nicholas Galitzine as himself instead of He-Man. Same goes for Cami Mendez – She’s just “Riverdale” to me.
19. Kraven the Hunter: ชชช
Decent story. Added a ช because Aaron Taylor-Johnson is hot. My ratings, my rules.
20. How to Train Your Dragon: ชชช
Dude, the animated HTTYD is so insanely good. There are some money-grabbing live action fools up in here. That aside, it was still good and perhaps ~ too ~ faithful to the animation. Where is the innovation? What separates this from the OG? Nothing.
21. Superman: ชชช
I am somewhat of a DC Extended Universe hater. This movie was better than I thought it was going to be. I need to give it more credit.
22. Wicked: For Good: ชชช
Lost a ช because of the clowns that changed the title on us. But gained a ช because of Michelle Yeoh and her wicked witch shenanigans.
23. GOAT: ชช
Decent animated movie. Why did I pay precious baht for this though?
24. The Fantastic Four: First Steps: ชช
Maybe I have superhero movie fatigue. Maybe I just love the OG Fantastic Four movies. Is this the third iteration of FF? โอ้ย! So tiresome.
25. Star Wars: The Mandalorian & Grogu: ชช
I fell asleep during parts of this movie. Oops.
26. The Devil Wears Prada 2: ชช
Nothing bad to say. Nothing quite good to say either. A sequel wasn’t necessary.
27. M3gan 2.0: ชช
HA! The first one was so pitifully good. This go round, I wasted 120 minutes of my life. Notice how all these sequels are getting the fitting amount of ชs… (Sorry Megan, if you’re reading this: I loved it!!)
28. The Passenger: ชช
A fun, C-List Celebrity horror movie type beat. D-list? Whatevs.
Honorable Mention:
KPop Demon Hunters: I didn’t see her in theatres, but I watched this on my parents’ netflix subscription before I got kicked off their account for geographical anomaly reasons. I LOVED THIS MOVIE. If I included this in the rankings, it’d be right below Sinners. The love I have for it rivals Tangled. Crazy… I know! Especially since the title of the movie is so on the nose.
Ollie Changs the Nangs:
Top Three
The Odyssey - 5/5 ชs
When so many movies today over rely on the use of CGI, Christopher Nolan's
films are reminders of what film can be when time and care is taken to craft a piece of art. From the beginning scenes, the grandness and scale of the story and world of "The Odyssey" ooze out of the screen. Perhaps what the movie does best is the use of a non-linear story telling structure, weaving both Trojan War era flashbacks with the current timeline and characters to help tell the journey of Odysseus and his crew as they try to get back home. What results from this is a culmination in the third act that may be one of Nolan's best yet.! have already dedicated almost 9 hours of my life to seeing this movie several times so it is the most obvious 5 ชs out of 5 that a movie may ever receive from me (At least until Dune Part 3...fingers crossed).
The Drama - 4.5/5 ชs
I had no idea what this movie was about walking into the theater. All I knew is that my favorite actor, Robert Pattinson, was one of the co-leads and that the movie had a surprising "twist" and these reasons were enough for me to buy a ticket. What followed was a movie that drags the viewer along as they helplessly watch the unfurling of Robert Pattinson's and Zendaya's relationship just days prior to their wedding ceremony. What ended up being the most surprising aspect of the film was not "the twist" which sets in motion the events of the film but rather how funny the movie is. This is a movie best enjoyed when you have no knowledge of the plot beforehand. Just sit back and enjoy the ride. 4.5/5 ชs
Sinners - 4/5 ชs
A period piece about jazz and vampires is something that sounds like it should not work on paper but in the hands of a director like Ryan Coogler it works to near perfection. The "Music Through the Years" sequence stands out as one of the most unique scenes I have seen in a movie in the past few years. While it takes a little bit of time for the vampires to arrive in the movie, once they do, the movie really starts to find its footing. Both disturbing and exhilarating at the same time, Sinners is proof that creativity and original film making is still very much alive and well in the industry.
Bottom Three
Mickey-17 - 2.5/5 ชs
In most professions, even the best will have their off-days, but for director Bong Joon Hoe, this movie felt like more of an off week. While the first half was executed well and promised an interesting premise, the second half did not go in the direction I had hoped. For me, this is a movie of two halves. The first 40 minutes would land around a 4/5 ชsbut the last half drops to a 2/5 ชs. Ultimately because of the sour taste the film left in my mouth, I decided on 2.5 ชs.
Jurassic World Rebirth - 2/5 ชs
I am not sure I can even give much of a review for this film because I can hardly remember what it was about. Even bad movies can at least be memorable. Unfortunately, this movie wasn't bad enough to be memorable nor good enough to be memorable, leaving it as just plain boring.
Supergirl - 2/5 ชs
While a movie like The Odyssey actively avoided the use of CGI, Supergirl feels like the complete opposite. Instead of taking advantage of CGI to make colorful and vibrant alien worlds, the movie opts to make almost every set piece devoid of color by stripping the well-known and colorful art panels of the original comic the movie's story is based on. The story was not anything special either, featuring a lackluster villain and side character. Combine a mediocre story with ugly visual effects and this movie lands at a meager 2/5 ชs.
