Almost Buddhist - 戲‧論

★★☆☆☆ 殭屍非人，亦非鬼，而是人扭曲的心識所幻想出來的東西，也就是執著的產物。人之所以放不下、皆因活在過去，忘記了無常，以為一切都是實實在在，孰不知當你覺得自己擁有某種東西的時候，同時也在失去它。片中出現的種種變態現象或行為，歸根究底都是因為執著！ 〈殭屍〉屬於 cult 片類， cult 片的特點就是畫面嚇死你，故事懶得理。先說畫面，坊間覺得該片畫面凌厲，恐怖壓迫感十足，但不知為何，我絲毫沒有被嚇死的感覺，整個過程我都很心平氣和地面對戲裡的種種血腥與怪誕。我承認部分畫面的設計頗有風格兼藝術感，但論灰暗恐怖氣氛，對我而言，則完全沒有作用，或許因為我的心比較「光明」吧。故事嘗試攪和西方鬼魂跟中國殭屍，但感覺好像兩頭不到岸。而不知是否礙於片長，影片對各人物的背景交代也顯得零碎，令人難以投入。唯一可觀之處就是各老戲骨的演技，尤其是鮑姐（鮑起靜），那幕七情上面的長鏡頭演繹，堪稱神級！至於選擇錢小豪做主角，我覺得致敬的意味多於其在影片中的實際作用及效果。 覺得結局摸不著頭腦的觀眾，大可把本片看作是錢小豪臨死前，其一生生活經歷的一次扭曲回放（事實是我們臨終的記憶回放不會如此扭曲），大家所看到的不過是一齣電影中的電影。現實是有很多只是存在、不是活著的「行尸走肉」，所以這個世界有沒有殭屍，就看你如何定義了。 電影真是見仁見智的東西，畢竟大家業力不同，對同一事物的感受看法也不同。人家說好看的東西，不一定就好看；人家說不好看的東西，也不一定就不好看，你自己想不想看、怎麼看，才是重點。

★★☆☆☆ ‘After Earth’ is like a fable, in which things don’t have to be logical or sensible after all, but must be convenient enough to convey the message. I don’t reject the idea. I just don’t consider it a nice flick that is supposed to be as much entertaining and convincing as it could be. Right, fables do teach but a story like that could be rather corny to some. ‘Danger is very real, but fear is a choice’. That’s the message. And it somehow reflects the heart of the Buddha’s teachings. You can’t change what’s come to your life but you do have a choice to decide how to take it. Your attitude to the problem is far more crucial than the problem itself. To realize so, you need certain wisdom, but unfortunately, that’s something most people lack nowadays. That’s why they keep repeating their mistakes over and again. They tend to kill to teach that killing is wrong. Ridiculous huh?

★★☆☆☆ This film opens with a long take introducing a tattooed handsome guy named Luke played by Ryan Gosling, you know, what he does for a living, how people feel about him, and how he feels about his job. If you’re a fan of Ryan, don’t get too carried away yet, because he only takes up one third of the film. The rest is all about Bradley Cooper’s Avery Cross and the sons of his and Luke’s. And don’t be mistaken that this is some kind of an action film. It’s a crime drama, a monotonous one though. There’s basically nothing thrilling and dramatic. So you gotta know what to expect before you get to see it, but I guess you'll get a bit disappointed no matter what! ‘The Place Beyond The Pines’ does however, tell something you think you get it but actually don’t: you do have a choice no matter how devastating the situation you get stuck in is. It’s all up to you to repeat or stop repeating mistakes of your own or others’; and last but not least, forgiveness does solve the probl

★★★★★ This film must be seen on as big of a screen as possible, best in IMAX 3D that will allow you to visually get in there to better experience the grandiosity of mother Earth from outer space, and also the extreme terror and incessant danger of drifting high up there. ‘Gravity’ is directed by Mexican Alfonso Cuaron who’s so fond of making long takes, but in the film, he’s not doing it to show off but to better present a story of survival by letting us see and feel how Ryan (Sandra Bullock) and Matt (George Clooney) see and feel about their life and death situation after their space mission is abruptly interrupted by space debris. Sandra Bullock is terrific playing a vulnerable, panicked astronaut rookie, while George Clooney is only there to teach her (and us) when it’s time to let go and when it’s not. He may seem trivial but he’s the key to plot twists, especially Ryan’s final move to want to make it back home, that looks so insane yet it’s scientifically correct and poss

★★★★★ 林超賢的〈証人〉是驚喜之作，之後的〈線人〉開始讓我滴汗，到了〈 逆戰 〉我徹底死了心，私自判了林大導「死刑」，決定以後不會再看他的電影。所以就算他的新作〈激戰〉贏盡口碑，我也沒甚興趣，直至在 佛門網 拜讀 林碧君先生的影評 ，才慢慢心軟，想看看到底林大導有否「洗心革面」。事實再次證明：做人不應該太心硬或太果斷；做事不能太絕，所謂知錯能改，善莫大焉，無論以前有何過錯，能懺悔改過就值得原諒，銀幕上的角色如是，現實中待人待己也應該如是；凡事無絕對，所謂守得雲開見月明，柳暗花明又一村，做人應該儘量保持樂觀，記住「無常」其實是好消息！ 至於〈激戰〉如何精采，如何正面，林先生的影評已經說得非常到肉，而網上也有眾多其他深入的影評，在此我就不多費口舌了，大家自己慢慢去咀嚼，不過， a picture is worth a thousand words ，大家最好還是入場感受光影的感動吧。我只想說一句，〈激戰〉一點都不「激」，反而很「柔」，但卻叫人看得激動，也願意相信林超賢在經過一輪「走火入魔」之後，開始「修成正果」了。如果你看過史先生的〈洛奇〉，再做對比，你就明白我的意思。影片之所以有這種感覺，音樂可能是很大的因素，那首喜歡英文歌的人都懂得唱，卻不太明白其歌詞含意的 Sound Of Silence ，簡直聽得我毛管直豎，腦海浮現很多過往種種，甚是感慨。由 Ania Dabrowska 翻唱的 Simon & Garfunkel 的 Sound Of Silence 不是一首勵志歌（其實是相當頹的），但跟這部勵志片結合，卻有種莫名的震撼，確是一絕！ 這次林超賢不「為打而打」，反而造就了這齣令人印象深刻的精采電影。〈激戰〉超越了〈証人〉，它是林超賢至今最好的作品，所以他的〈魔警〉值得期待！ Hello darkness, my old friend I've come to talk with you again Because a vision softly creeping Left its seeds while I was sleeping And the vision that was planted in my brain Still remains Within the sound

★★★★☆ This film’s set in 2154. Elysium is a space station-like structure for the rich and powerful, hanging above (not sure if it orbits) the Earth where only the poor and dying reside. It’s practically a place left to rot now. Yet, people on Elysium have something that people on Earth don’t, a magical healing machine that can scan and fix almost every physical illness and disability humans suffer. So the confrontation is only a matter of time. This is an action-packed sci-fi film with a love story backing up that isn’t fully developed as it should be, probably due to its relatively short running time, 100 minutes give or take. ‘Elysium’ is not perfect, but it’s pretty impressive on some levels, like the music and special effects. The script remains engrossing throughout, but things seem a bit in a rush to the end so some happenings may not look convincing after all. Matt Damon is the backbone of the film, while Judie Foster should’ve been allowed to do more than just being a