Almost Buddhist - 戲‧論

Who: Escape Plan Where: China What: Alternative/Pop Rock When: 2013 This is one of very few Chinese rock bands that I appreciate and enjoy, while there’s a lot I neither appreciate nor enjoy at all. ‘Earth’ is a debut by Escape Plan, a stylish looking band of four young men very into British rock I guess coz they look British and the music they’ve been playing is also kind of British. It makes me think of Coldplay but somehow different. They’re considered Indie Pop or New Wave or stuff. Whatever, it sounds hopeful, exhilarating and sentimental at the same time. And their live shows are absolutely world class, but we’re not seeing them making any commercial attempt yet. Just can’t wait to get a bite of their probably even greater sophomore. Try it and rock on!

★★★☆☆ To be honest, I’ve never before sat down for any film featuring Robert Redford, a rather great actor to most movie lovers, until ‘All Is Lost’, a pretty close to reality version of ‘Old Man And The Sea’ that stars him and him only! This is a film of basically no dialogues, no music, no breathtaking pictures, no fierce or lovely animals, no tricky camera work, no complicated story to tell, nothing particular at all, just a man fighting to survive. So what’s great about this film as most people and critics said it is so? Well, it’s not great to me anyway but it does leave me an ambivalent aftertaste. I guess it’s not a film you’d find impressive when or right after you watch it, but you’d start feeling it when you recall it a bit later. The film opens with a man voicing over his last words seemingly, saying ‘I’m sorry. I know that means little at this point, but I am. I tried. I think you would all agree that I tried. To be true, to be strong, to be kind, to love, to be ri...

★★★★☆ Captain Phillips must feel rather fortunate being an American citizen because in the film we see that he’s got a lot of backup from the Navy to be able to stay alive till the end. Those pirates are however, not that lucky at all. Men are all born equal, that is total bullshit you know. We’re born into different parts of the world living different lives. There’s no way for us to achieve equality or stuff. So when Richard Phillips tries to convince Muse, the pirate leader played by Barkhad Abdi, to give up by saying ‘there's got to be something other than being a fisherman or kidnapping people’, he replies without hesitation, ‘maybe in America, Irish, maybe in America’. Like it or not, some are just lucky enough to have a choice of their own as to which walk of life is much worthier and more respectable, but some are not so! Honestly I feel very sorry for those pirates having no choice but to listen to their bosses and risk their lives to earn a living every day. But d...

I used to be so into pop songs at first, and then ditch it completely and move on to pop rock particularly, but now I’m only a fan of indie rock. Not like before, I no longer go to record stores for CDs or something coz there’re lots of sources on the Internet that I can get to try from time to time so conveniently. Some help me relax. Some encourage. Some makes me sentimental again. I thought I could keep music at bay, but we all need it sometimes, whether to feel better or worse, don’t we? So starting this year, I’ll share some of my favorites with any of you guys out there who feel like I feel right here at ‘Almost Buddhist’. Who: Switchfoot Where: America What: Alternative Rock When: 2014 Not particularly great as I thought it should be, but it’s still a pretty decent album certainly worth a listen, especially when your mind’s kinda empty and feeling’s kinda numb. I’ve been following them for years. Musically, they always dare to try something new for their albums. Lyr...

★★☆☆☆ 當年黃精甫憑著〈江湖〉獲得香港電影金像獎最佳新晉導演獎，可謂技驚四座。但看罷，覺得故事一般，對白乏味，節奏拖拉，鏡頭賣弄，有些畫面根本不需要那麼拍吧，炫燿過頭，顧此失彼，之後他的第二部長片〈阿嫂〉果然撲直。如果不是為了看久違的學友（個人很喜歡看他做戲，但偏偏他很少拍戲），〈江湖〉應該不是我那杯茶。唯一可圈點的，就是其敘事方式，最後的結局又真的讓人有點意外。銷聲匿跡幾年，最近黃導又出來〈惡戰〉，雖然想看八爺指導的武打，最後還是打消了念頭！ 江湖是什麼？在哪裡？應該沒有人可以說得清，但提起「江湖」，大家都會馬上聯想到「道義」。現在社會道德淪喪，有義氣之人，多數被當作傻子。人人都擺出一副「人不為己，天誅地滅」的姿態，孰不知真正「天誅地滅」的原因，就是人自私自利的心。想起以前大姨丈經常掛在嘴邊的「四句偈」：黃蓮苦，貧窮更苦；登天難，求人更難；春冰薄，人情更薄；江湖險，人心更險。所謂依報隨著正報轉，留意現在身邊發生的人與事，你大概可以知道這個世界將往哪裡而去！

★★☆☆☆ Honestly, I feel nothing particular about this latest work by Director Ron Howard who used to impress me just once with ‘A Beautiful Mind’, though it seems rather welcomed by film critics and most of the viewers. The actions are by no means thrilling. The story’s a bit rushed off. The dialogues are awkwardly dull. The whole film is almost like a turnoff to me. Maybe it’s because I’m no fan of racing sports, and don’t know how to appreciate it. So please excuse me! I said ‘almost’ because ‘Rush’ is not completely a mess after all. At least I stayed seated for two hours straight to want to find out how things would end up between James Hunt and Niki Lauda, two real great desperados in F1 racing history. Two different characters, two different ways of living and approaching to success, and I guess there’s nothing wrong or right with the choices they make, but you know every choice has its price to pay! F1 is undoubtedly the most dangerous sport on this planet that gets ...

I no longer see myself as a film junkie coz, as you may’ve realized, I’ve written stuff about movies much, much less than before. Not that I’m lazy or busy. Just that I’ve become choosy, and don’t wanna waste my time checking out trash anymore, unless it’s my day job to do so! I guess now I’m only a PTM, Part Time Moviegoer, and still pathetically an AB, Almost Buddhist! But I’ll be closing this blog when I become a complete. I didn’t watch so many films as some of the movie maniacs did out there last year. In fact, I watched so few that I can barely list out the so called top ten must-see in 2013, but here’s what I consider the best and worst: The Best: Title: Gravity Year: 2013 Country: America Director: Alfonso Cuaron Starring: Sandra Bullock, George Clooney Pros: The story, the underscore, the acting, the special effects… ‘ Gravity ’ truly is a spectacular I’ve ever seen in recent years, that’s to remind us to ought to appreciate life every now and then. And that ne...