Almost Buddhist - 戲‧論

★★★★☆ 〈寒戰〉的劇本嚴謹、一絲不茍；演員出色，人物關係複雜。首次執導的陸劍青和梁樂民，手法成熟，頗具野心。影片雖以文戲為主，但對白針鋒相對，精采萬分，其中兩位警隊高層被請到廉署問話的兩場戲，氣氛營造一流。無奈到最後，枝節繁生，節奏有點凌亂，有草草了事之感。其實整齣戲的節奏頗急速，幾乎沒有讓人喘息的空間，少了〈無間道〉那種動靜得宜的瀟灑。影片對於劉傑輝（郭富城）的私人生活，以及李文彬（梁家輝）和他兒子的關係，著墨甚少，一切留待續集吧。如果〈無間道〉是經典，那〈寒戰〉可以說是一部接近經典的高質素香港電影。 梁家輝霸氣十足，揮灑自如。郭富城成熟內斂，叫人看得舒服。反而劉德華的客串看得我捏一把汗。最大驚喜是李治廷飾演的廉署首席調查主任張國標，坊間說他表現青澀，我覺得他充分展現了「初生之犢不怕虎」的那種熱血沸騰，毫不怯場。〈寒戰〉講的是警隊高層的權力鬥爭，當然也涉及他們的下屬。主角的舞台都集中在其工作崗位上，私人生活方面的描寫幾乎是零，導致人物的呈現不夠立體，有礙觀眾的投入，難以跟戲中人一起呼吸。好戲是好戲，但就是缺乏一種深度。〈無間道〉之所以是經典，除了故事精采、人物刻畫出色之外，它還勾畫了無間地獄般的人間苦況，帶出一種「命運使然、不能自主」的可悲，而〈寒戰〉就沒有這種深刻的哲學味道。 戲中兩次提到前英國首相邱吉爾有關戰爭的名言，這倒讓我想起佛陀的言教： It’s better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles 。如果我們能克服內心的貪婪，所有一切戰爭其實都是可以避免的，但我們往往就是過不了自己這一關，甚至還會麻醉自己說：為了獲得和平，某些戰爭是必要的。這就是貪婪的自我狡辯，多麼可怕。「貪」可以衍生出其他很多恐怖的心魔，人間一切災難皆因此等心魔而生，佛陀的話，可謂用心良苦啊！

★★★★☆ Ang Lee’s films always lack surprises. They’re pretty plain and straight. Some find his Oscar winning ‘Brokeback Mountain’ heart-wrenching. I don’t, but no doubt, it’s his best work so far. ‘Life Of Pi’, adapted from Yann Martel’s same titled bestseller, again demonstrates Ang Lee’s artistic way of telling a story with this time terrific use of 3D technology. I consider it the second best of his works. I never find 3D movies necessary or enjoyable. They always give me a headache in fact, but in ‘Life Of Pi’, 3D is not only a bonus, but also a must, so as to better indicate the grandiosity and sacredness of the ocean and skies, and how small and insignificant we seem when we’re stuck in between. This film presents a lot of breath-taking, powerful shots of nature’s beauty as well as its wildness. One of the shots that strikes me the most is when Pi is carried by waves a few feet down below the surface of the ocean. He freezes and stares right up, through the refraction of

★★☆☆☆ I know it’s personal, but seriously, I hate to see Mark Wahlberg in any comedies. He’s not funny in any sense for God’s sake. As for Ted, certainly not for kids considering the words he uses and acts he does, I don’t find him interesting or adoring at all, though he seems to try to be offensive and sarcastic all the time. The story’s nothing more than a fairy tale, in which the couple manage to live happily ever after, plus a teddy bear. There’re laughs but not so impressive to me. I only remember one about Lance Armstrong’s nut. Speaking of him, I just can’t believe what he reportedly did to himself, and to all of us that admired him. ‘Sometimes you feel like a nut.’ I do, when recalling all the stuff about him. I remember one of my friends said on Facebook that ‘Ted’ made him cry, literally tears down on his cheeks. As I know, he’s not the guy who’d easily shed a tear seeing any film. So I guess it must really mean something to him. Maybe he saw his reflection in it.

★★★☆☆ Action films are usually not without fists or gunfire. In ‘Premium Rush’, there’re no blazes or guns or bombs or whatsoever. It’s all about bikes. A bike messenger named Wilee (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) rushes around the New York City on his signature bike with no gears and brakes. Like he said, he can’t stop. He doesn’t want to either. I guess if you go down the busy streets of New York on a bike like that, and ride like he does in the film, you’ll be killed instantly, no kidding. He’s got a special technique to slow and stop his bike as a matter of fact. See and learn that first for your safety and others’. This is a fast-paced, exciting action film with some bike stunts never seen before. And Joseph is competent in playing a vigorous guy who gets himself in trouble by picking up an envelope he shouldn’t. The chases are thrilling and creative. The story, however, lacks surprises, though it’s told non-linearly. If you look for a decent piece of action cinema to enjoy, this

★☆☆☆☆ Right, this is episode 5 of the series. If you didn’t see the previous 4, and neither did I, don’t worry, you’ll be briefed in the opening which seems a bit eye-catching in fact with things going backwards in slo-mo. But as it goes on, things get bloody clichéd and routine; the actions stupid and pseudo-stylish; the dialogues dry and tasteless; the story a 90-minute carefree video game. Unless you’re a die-hard fan of the mindless Resident Evil games, I don’t think you’ll feel any excitement about this film. The good always win. The bad always fail. Yes, I believe it’s the law, but it’s really not something necessary to expect in a thriller. No idea how this series could’ve made it so far, but the scariest thing is, part 5 is just the beginning of the end. There’s more to come, y’know? We’re indeed in the belly of a beast!

★★★★☆ Some films are made to entertain, some to upset, some to agitate and make us learn, some just to test our patience. This is a film about a film being made up with the purpose of rescuing innocent Americans from fanatical Iranian revolutionaries. It’s a political drama based on a true event that works like a terrific action thriller indeed. This film couldn’t have been made possible if not for Bill Clinton who decided to declassify ‘Argo’ back in 1997, a fake sci-fi film production set up in order to get 6 American embassy staff out of Iran peacefully after they escaped the local radicals’ attack on the U.S. embassy in Tehran in 1979. Since they were secret escapees, if they were unfortunately captured, they could be executed without anyone knowing it. Ben Affleck’s Tony Mendez must, therefore, run against the clock with of course a bold heart to get them out of the madness. It takes a lot of proper conditions to pull a thing off. The ‘Argo’ miracle is no exception. Tony

★★★★★ 對細田守這位日本新生代動畫導演認識不多，只知他被譽為宮崎駿接班人之一。過去 7 年間，他只交出 4 部作品，屬於少產。〈穿越時空的少女〉是他的第二部作品，彷彿平地一聲雷，令他聲名頓然大噪。看罷，果然不虛，令人讚嘆。繪畫技巧、人物刻畫和敘事手法都很有自家風格，毫不跟風或索性宮崎駿化。其功力比新海誠和宮崎吾朗強好幾倍，若能保持如此水平，宮崎駿的接班人，我想，非他莫屬。 這又是一齣關於時間的影片，時間真是一種令人著迷的東西。女主角因為一次意外，得到了穿越時空的能力，興奮莫名的她利用超能力，做了一大堆自得其「樂」的事，過程十分爆笑。她如何運用其超能力，恰恰反映了人在青春期的任意、調皮與感性。〈穿越時空的少女〉的那位女生，跟〈 那些年，我們一起追的女孩 〉的那位男生，都是青春期任性妄為的代表，這並不為過，因為那是人生的必經階段。關鍵是我們如何能在錯誤中學習、吸取教訓，漸漸轉化自私自利的心態，最終確立正確的人生觀。「你認為好的事，對他人來說就未必好」，這是點醒女主角的一句話。當然，最初她還不以為然，直至她發覺原來她穿越時空的次數是有限的。 也許你會說，世間的是非對錯，哪有絕對的標準。從世俗的角度說，這是沒錯的，因為大家都以各自世俗的利益為依歸，可是從佛法的角度看，正與邪是有絕對標準的──凡是有助於我們覺悟的事，就是善的、對的、淨的、正的，即使表面上看是多麼的不合理；相反，凡是無助於我們覺悟的事，就是惡的、錯的、染的、邪的，就算表面上看是多麼的合理。覺悟甚麼呢？覺悟「無我」。因此，也可以說凡是「自利」的，都是錯的；凡是「利他」的，都是對的。能覺悟這點，那就不是「穿越」時空，而是「超越」時空了，當然這並不是人人都感興趣的。影片本身並沒有深入探討是非的標準，這只是我的有感而發。但作為一部青春勵志片，〈穿越時空的少女〉絕對是經典，充滿青春氣息，幽默感人、驚喜處處。過程動靜皆宜，襯托青春的衝動與感性。結局出人意表，浪漫感觸。 Time waits for no one ，這句話在影片中出現過很多次。我越來越覺得這多少是年輕人衝動的藉口。隨著年紀的增長，你會慢慢發覺應該 give time some time sometimes 。老子說過：大自然從來不趕時間，但大自然卻能把一切做得圓滿。所以男主角最後對女主角說的那句話──「我在未來等你」─

★★☆☆☆ 總覺得片中的配樂跟整個故事很不搭調，但沒有古怪調皮的配樂，〈文雀〉就真的沒甚麼看頭了。劇本其實很乏味，說得好聽就叫有風格，說得不好聽就是沒戲找戲做。影片多取景於香港的西環，富有香港風情，但看到任達華總是白天在了無車輛的西環行車道上踩單車，感覺卻又那麼的不真實，這分明就是拍來參加甚麼電影節的，給外國人看的嘛。杜爺的作品向來都是如此這般，可以理解，受不受落，見仁見智了。戲中唯一的女角林熙蕾，怎麼看都不是味，換成高圓圓的話，那肯定就不一樣了。 「文雀」就是小偷，顧名思義他們只偷 pocket money ，不偷 bank cash 。他們自以為「功夫」了得，卻不知山外有山、天外有天，結果聰明反被聰明誤。這讓我想起莊子關於「有用」和「無用」的觀點，所謂樹大招風、高名喪人，能夠做到大智若愚的都是非神即聖，我們一般凡夫都喜歡「知少少、扮代表」，孰不知看似聰明的往往就是愚類；看似愚蠢的往往就是最聰明的。因此，被人當作「空氣」未必是壞事──他們看不到你，卻不能沒有你，這才了不得啊。 Sorry ，我又扯遠了。總之切記，不要學杜爺和杜爺的「文雀」那樣班門弄斧、故弄玄虛！

★★☆☆☆ Don’t remember if I saw Arnie’s ‘Total Recall’ before. Probably not in full. No interest in re-seeing it either, but I learned that it takes place on Mars according to the original fiction by Philip K. Dick. The new version starring Colin Farrell takes action, however, on apocalyptical Earth. It has a very intriguing opening, but it starts to hypnotize you as it develops with tons of carefree chases and fights. And its ending is certainly a turnoff. It has a little bit of ‘Blade Runner’, of ‘Minority Report’, of confusion about dream and reality. It’s like a hybrid of a little piece of this and that, yet nothing of it really matters. It has no character as a result. I didn’t check out any Colin Farrell’s film ever since his impressive ‘Phone Booth’. This latest effort of his is truly a letdown as I expected something philosophical out of it. Of course if you’re a fan of non-stop actions, it won’t disappoint you anyhow. But if you look for depth and profundity, this is t

★★★☆☆ This is an old-fashioned tale about Santa Claus and his family told in a much sophisticated, sci-fictional way. Not sure how and where he could get so many different types of presents for every kid around the world every year without being noticed, or why he insists to give them out to those good and even bad kids out there without being repaid. Thing is, you don’t have to care a bit about that at all. ‘Arthur Christmas’ is like a hope and faith for non-believers in good human nature. For those apt to look on the dark side of life, it’s a very heart-warming story. Like I’ve said so many times before, that this world is nothing but the reflection of our mind. We’re what we believe in as a matter of fact. If you believe in positive things like you’re here to complete others; to make others happy, your life will certainly shine. If you believe, instead, that killing your enemies is a much quicker way to your heaven, you’ll be rather pathetic without doubt. I wonder, however