1st Bite

"Bite" has some very promising elements, but the script needed some major jazzing up. In a big way. The basic story is a good one, but the leads do and say many unlikely things. Lots of big, cheesy lines, but no-one has an ordinary conversation. The chef of an Asian restaurant needs to get away for a while, so he scoots off to the south seas islands. David La Haye is the chef "Gus", who is searching for someone, but nobody seems to know if the guy is dead or alive. On the island, Gus meets up with the very mysterious girl "Lake" (Napakpapha Nakprasitte). We're only fifteen minutes in, and we already have so many unanswered questions. Some beautiful scenery, some terrible karaoke, and still many unanswered questions. Interesting images; the smokey dance circles. Lighting ciggies from the same torches. the loud, obnoxious tourist. Lake quickly and expertly making a hair decoration out of a coconut shell. The little native boy's mysterious warnings. Written and directed by Hunt Hoe. Not much info available on him anywhere. He HAS written and directed several earlier projects. It's an engaging story, if you stick with it. Much strangeness. Has a pretty weird recurring theme... pretty freaky, but still a good story, if you hang in there.

Like the film a lot. Don't know what to expect at first. It switches from comedy to action to horror to drama... That's the fun of watching this kind of film. But at the end, I totally love the roller-coaster.

It's very different in its approaches to many basic themes like love, food and soul-mates... and even Buddhism. The mythology element is pretty cool and though I'm not from Thailand, I find it very special. My friend from Taiwan told me about the Lovers Rock story which is quite similar to this. The "Full Moon" Party scenes are dazzling...

One should let go of the conventional expectation with "1st Bite"... Then you'll really see what the film can take you... Bravo!!!!

This film is so bad I can't believe it was actually shot. People who voted 10 or 9, 8 and even 7, are you insane? Did we really watch the same movie? Or the same sh** should I say. Everything is bad in this film. The story (is there a story?) is going nowhere, completely incoherent, the acting (some dialogs are simply just ridiculous), the music score (what the **** is that?), the editing, and especially the artistic direction, a pure disaster. Reminds me the old Macist movies... To give you an example of the amateurism of the production, the mermaid's costume is a sleeping bag with spangles sticked on it. I'm not joking, that's exactly what it is.

Another example of the enormous mistakes we find here: you see in a scene an extra, a fat woman of about 200 pounds, who's talking on her cell phone. The next shot, which is in a complete different location, you can see this same woman, still talking on her cell phone (!) Yes, it goes that far.

A big, huge, waste of money. Useless.

Saw this recently on PayTV and really enjoyed it. Didn't know what to expect but was presently surprised. The film was shot in Asia ( think is Indonesia or Thailand ), the Caribbean and Canada. The story reminds me of a lot of the folktales where I grew up on the islands. It weaves in a lot of stuff like voodoo, Zen, cooking, meaning of life, etc. The magical or fable element is refreshing. The photography is quite breathtaking. The Thai actress is very spooky. Her accent is a bit hard to understand. But thankfully, she is not saying much. The Indian guru is also quite funky. He's a bit like a witch doctor that you love but fear also. I also get a kick of the world-beat soundtrack. I am looking forward to getting the DVD when it comes out.

Hunt Hoe's film on food, love, and death references everything from folk tales to Barry White ("my first, last, everything"). Filmed in Montreal and on location in Thailand, Hoe manages to make a mountain out of a molehill, and in true form to his character (see previous works)he stretches his resources to create this thriller that is definitely not your average fare. Like the reoccurring motif of the delicious steamed fish dish and its preparation, the viewer's adventurous spirit will be nurtured. Part fantasy, part stereotype (not good or bad necessarily), 1st Bite is all entertainment. The filmmaker even makes a cameo appearance in his circular cautionary tale of killing and eating what we love.