Almost Buddhist - 戲‧論

It’s been like 10 years since I last took a flight. This year I’ve, however, taken two flights already, one to Japan and one to Taiwan, places where I never thought I would want to go. Like I said, to move on forward, you got to learn to let go of things that have kept you grounded. And you got to put aside your stereotypes and biases so as to be able to see and find out more about what life has actually got for you. That’s not easy of course. It takes a lot of courage and determination, and you might have to struggle hard with your past and shadows too, but I guess one step at a time is all you need. Love is indeed a great force that drives us forward, and keeps us hopeful for a better future, a better life, a better world, even though it might probably fail and hurt us over and again. A person without love and hope is basically doomed. As a Buddhist or not, we ought to be brave and fearless to love and care as if we’ve never been hurt before, like a Bodhisattva never giving upon...

★★☆☆☆ Whoa, I just figured I’ve already watched most of Darren Aronofsky’s films like ‘ The Wrestler ’, ‘ Black Swan ’, and ‘ Noah ’ before his latest ‘Mother’. Well, to me ‘The Wrestler’ is the best of all hands down. The rest all seem a bit too dark and bleak to be digested and appreciated. I had no interest checking out ‘Mother’ in the first place, but since there are pretty Lawrence and awesome Javier, and mixed critics saying you’d either love it or hate it, simple as that, so… turned out I’m one of the haters! For those who have watched ‘Mother’ but still can’t make head nor tail of it, here is mother in the film Jennifer Lawrence’s breakdown, ‘T he film is an allegory. It depicts the rape and torment of Mother Earth. I represent Mother Earth; Javier, whose character is a poet, represents a form of God, a creator; Michelle Pfeiffer is an Eve to Ed Harris's Adam, there's Cain and Abel and the setting sometimes resembles the Garden of Eden.’ Now you get it? Nope? ...

有些事情說了不會做，可還是做了；有些地方說了不會去，可還是去了。到底是我的心變柔軟了，還是願力始終敵不過業力，這個我不清楚，也不想去深究，但有一點可以肯定的，就是一個人必須放下過去的負擔，才能繼續往前走得更遠；必須拋棄固有的偏見，才能看到更多美好的風景！ 之前去日本京都，遊覽了很多簡樸古雅的唐代風格寺廟，令人印象深刻。這次去台灣，沒有時間去聖嚴法師的法鼓山，但還是特地去了一趟北投附近的 農禪寺 ！ 在台北乘搭捷運到達奇岩站，出站後跟著指示牌走便可 如果找不到，可以問問人，當地人肯定知道 出了奇岩捷運站，大概走五到十分鐘 就看到農禪寺入口 再往前走一段路就會看到正門 入寺需知，甚麼可以做，甚麼不可以，自己看 記得守規矩哦 一入門就能看到正殿 咦，我是不是來錯地方了，這裡是甚麼圖書館吧 參觀當天天陰下雨，人客稀少，難得「清靜」 農禪寺看上去真的不像是一所寺廟，摩登的外觀讓人誤以為它是一座展覽館甚麼的，但它確實是一所宏揚佛法的正信道場。簡單的外觀設計和建築線條，讓它別具特色，無論從哪個角度去欣賞，都頗具美感，三個字形容，簡‧疏‧美！難怪這裡是很多(偽)文青的打卡聖地！ 正殿對出的兩個對角荷花池 當天下雨，水漲了些，看上去倒像個池塘 也無法走近欣賞各色荷花 簡約有秩的美 法鼓出品的法寶 如果不夠看，隔壁還有個書店 裡頭有聖嚴法師的書籍以及紀念品 買些送給同修也是歡喜之事 外牆上有石刻的《金剛經》全文。「若以色見我，以音聲求我，是人行邪道，不能見如來」，《金剛經》的這段經文，如果仔細思索，確實是非常「嚇人」！它基本上就是說佛法其實只不過是安慰劑，它也許能安慰你受傷的心靈，讓你的生活好過一點，做人豁達一點，今生或來世福報多一些，但如果你以為這些就是佛法的全部，那你還完全不了解佛的本懷，以及甚麼叫真實如是。多數人拜佛所求的果，恰恰就是把他們牢牢綁在輪迴的因。「一切有為法，如夢幻泡影」，我們所經歷的，其實都是假，站在了義的角度，佛法也是「騙人」的，看到《金剛經》如此形容佛法，你害怕嗎？我反而是有無限的感動，因為它在嘗試告訴我們，甚麼才是絕對真實，而無論是絕對真實還是...

★★☆☆☆ Yea, this is another Stephen King adaptation among many others happening this year. Though it’s considered the best by a lot of positive reviews, I can barely say I’m satisfied with a horror film like this. We’re never told what IT is throughout. Apparently IT is not a human sicko or weirdo or anything like that coz IT can show up anywhere anytime in any way IT likes, and disappear without a trace. So it gotta be some sorta supernatural phenomenon. Some said it’s an ET or an alien. I said I don’t care, coz I’m no longer interested to find out more after done watching IT. To me, IT is just a slow-paced, acting-absent, boring, emotionless piece of so called a horror that delivers nothing but shallow scares. The only thing that seems to be able to give me goose bumps sometimes is its sound effects! Said that IT feeds on fears. If you don’t fear IT, you can defeat IT, but not physically, nor when alone. I have no idea why! Well, it’ll explain later I guess, as this is ju...

★★★☆☆ 曾經、我發誓不會踏足日本，因為日本人在二戰期間的侵略行徑實在令人髮指。後來、我漸漸覺得，戰爭中人的所作所為，其實根本沒有所謂的「對錯」，大家都只是在做自己認為「對」的事情，所以也不存在誰要跟誰道歉的必要。現在、我對日本人或日本這個國家已經沒有任何憎恨，因為我知道我要針對的不是「日本人」，而是任何自我膨脹到極點的「人」。這類人是戰爭的罪魁禍首，而戰爭真正的受害者是被這類人洗腦煽動的人，有些事他們不願意做都要去做，有些甚至根本就不知道自己在做甚麼，待到良心發現的時候，一切都為時已晚了！ 如果期待哭天泣地、悲天憫人的悽慘畫面，〈謝〉絕對會令你失望。雖然它的背景是二戰，但它聚焦的是生活在日本吳市的一個叫鈴的女孩，她婚前婚後的生活點滴。正當外面的世界，喪失理性的人在歇斯底里地打個你死我活的時候，在這日本的一個小角落，我們卻看到與荒謬的戰爭完全不同的溫馨畫面，這裡有無私溫情，樂天積極，和平友愛，堅毅不屈，就算吃完今餐都不知有沒下餐，就算滿天飛的都是砲彈。一切顯得平淡輕鬆，高潮起伏沒有，煽情與血腥欠奉，所有關於戰爭的殘酷點到即止，就算核彈投下的一刻，也只是一下閃光，輕輕帶過。或者正是對戰爭恐怖一面的輕描淡寫，而對在恐怖陰霾籠罩下淳樸人性的細膩刻畫，這種對比反教人看得唏噓無奈，無奈在這個本來美好的世界，為何會產生一樣東西叫戰爭，更令人感慨的，是鈴最後決堤般的眼淚，因為她難以相信，在無數犧牲之後，日本竟然會戰敗！ 鈴一開始心儀的對象並不是她後來的丈夫周作，但患難見真情，日久見人心，事實證明所謂的真愛，完全取決於你想不想、懂不懂去珍惜眼前人。在經歷過一連串戰爭的洗禮之後，不太會表達自己的鈴，最後對丈夫講出了一句淺白卻深情的說話：謝謝你，在世界角落中找到我。是啊！若無相欠，豈會相見，但無論到底誰欠誰多一點，找到的，應該珍惜；被找到的，應該感恩。有句話說的很對：我們每次的相遇，其實都是久別的重逢！以前這句話讓我感動，如今、我是亦不歡喜亦不悲了！

「人間」在日語中是「人」的意思，人間失格即是「失去了做人的的資格」之意。小說講述了主人公葉藏不堪肮髒世俗的困擾，一步步走向絕境的的故事。 主人公葉藏是一個人，但卻始終不明白要如何去做一個「人」。 葉藏的童年曾被多個女僕猥褻而恥於吭聲，生日時選個禮物都要取悅父親去選擇不喜歡的舞獅頭套。在學校為了和同學打成一片，他不惜假裝摔倒、讓褲子掉下…青年葉藏因為參加非法革命被追捕，陪酒女常子為了幫助葉藏不惜用身體擋住警察。那晚，他與常子發生關係，他們都覺得活著好累，於是來到海邊的懸崖上投海殉情。可後來常子死了，葉藏卻被路人救了起來，葉藏深深自責。這段經歷使得報社爭相採訪，他的好友堀木，非但沒有安慰他，反而做了報社的中間人撈了不少好處。葉藏父親也擔心兒子的行為有損他的議員形象，把他送到一個偏遠地方，關在一間小房子裏。 後來走頭無路的他被單親的報社記者靜子收留。靜子有個五歲的女兒，女兒一直很想有個爸爸，她也很想有個男人可以依靠。女兒管葉藏叫爸爸，葉藏也享受著每日與女兒玩耍的日子。葉藏開始覺得，可能這就是普通人的生活吧。可是有一天，女兒突然說她想要真正的爸爸，並問葉藏是不是真的殺了一個女人。原來是鄰居們的流言蜚語傳到了女兒的耳中。葉藏又一次絕望，從那以後，他就再也沒有回去過。 失落的葉藏躺在雪地裏，留下眼淚，哭著說錯不該生而為人。這時候有個女人撐著傘走到他身邊，他向女人說起他的罪惡，而女人卻不肯相信他的話，說他並不像壞人，還提醒葉藏不要著涼了。看著眼前這個宛如白雪般純潔的女人，葉藏仿佛得到了救贖。女人叫良子，葉藏請求她拯救自己並向她求婚。葉藏以漫畫為生，和良子一起生活讓他感到非常舒適，二人過上了普通人的幸福生活。後來良子在葉藏與好友敘舊的時候被報社的負責人強暴，一旁的葉藏看得泣不成聲卻沒做出任何反應。 結尾葉藏走進一家藥店，向老闆娘要了一些減輕痛苦的藥，與自己臆想出來的怪物永遠的待在一起… 1948年6月13日，日本文豪太宰治在紙上寫下「生而為人，對不起。」後，遂投水自殺，享年39歲。《人間失格》成為他的封筆之作，震懾著一代又一代讀者的心靈。 《人間失格》是日本無賴派文學的巔峰。戰後一部分日本作家企圖用頹喪，抑鬱的風格對當時社會的虛無和做作進行批判，他們被人稱為「無賴派」。自從葉藏這一角色的出現，太宰治背負了整整一百年「...

★★★☆☆ This is not a detective story made up to play smart and pull a trick on you. It’s based on true events, and the crime itself is not of a mystery or a puzzle designed to confuse or blow your mind! There’s basically nothing too dramatic or shocking. The film’s in fact pretty honest and melancholic. It introduces a new angle to look at things like pain, suffering and grief, which I quite appreciate indeed! ‘Wind River’ is set in snow-covered Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming, where things appear to be quite boring and upsetting since there’s nothing but thick snow, mountains, tress, wild animals and few cowboys and American Indians living far away from each other. A saying that where you live could have a great effect on the way you behave. So it’s said that up right there on reservations there’re thousands of sexual assaults of women. It’s true that it’s not the place you live in that matters after all. It’s how you look at it. It’s the people. But I guess it’s alwa...

★☆☆☆☆ I don’t like the idea of there’s been a dark tower right in the center of the universe since the beginning of time! How come there’s a dark tower in the first place? What makes it? What makes what makes it? You can go so on and so forth! And what’s the point of being in the center, while y’know any coordinate can be the center or edge of something! Also to think that time has a beginning is so unnecessary and unwise! Well, sad and also glad that the film’s nothing deep about that. ‘The Dark Tower’ is simply a commercial production made to entertain the eyeballs but it miserably fails! The film seems to rush from the start to the end. Things just happen casually. There’s no buildup or setup or anything! The characters enter. The action takes place. Fight and finish! And there goes another round! The story’s so uninteresting. The action is so lame. Hell that Matthew McConaughey, one of my favorite Oscar-winning actors, appears to be such a nuisance here. ‘The Dark Tower’ i...

★★★★☆ Don’t get fooled by the trailers or the poster that this is a Star War-like action-packed sci-fi spectacular. The action sequences are in fact very few. But yeah, ‘Blade Runner 2049’ is a spectacular absolutely, for it’s visually stunning and narratively satisfying! The running time is more than two hours long but the whole journey is never boring. You get drawn, flabbergasted and fascinated throughout thanks to the haunting score and stylish pictures, or say, lighting and cinematography. And of course Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford have both put on decent and captivating performances in such an artsy, philosophical sci-fi masterpiece to date. With ‘Blade Runner 2049’, Director Denis Villeneuve has once again proved that he’s one of the best filmmakers diligently working in Hollywood. High quantity doesn’t necessarily mean bad quality though. Denis has been making impressive films at an impressive speed, like 2010’s ‘Incendies’, 2013’s ‘Prisoners’, 2015’s ‘ Sicario ’ and...

★★★★☆ 不知為何，對〈逆權司機〉這類政治題材的電影總有點興趣，觀影期間也幾乎落淚，是因為感動、憤怒、欣慰、還是悲傷無奈？我已無法去分辨，但觀罷，心裡卻異常的空空如也，沒有甚麼想說的！不知幾時開始，我刻意不想去關心政治，但無奈政治又好像跟我們的生活息息相關，所以有時被迫都要「政治正確」一番。但我心知，在這個世界，哪來的正確或客觀，你的所謂正確，在他人眼中就可能是不正確；你的所謂客觀，其實也只不過是另一種主觀！好比人性，也是一體兩面，沒有一個人是完全好人或壞人，視乎你站在甚麼角度立場去看罷了，說到底，大家都只是在做各自認為對的事情！ 電影本身是可觀的。片長兩個小時，氣氛從開頭的輕鬆，到後來的悲痛沉重，過度是自然有說服力的。宋康昊的演出再次是影帝級的，自然流露，演而無演，非常能牽動觀眾的情緒。從一開始一個瑙珠必較的市井小民，到後來的大公無私、竭盡所能護送德國記者出境的逆權英雄，其轉變也毫不突兀。影片的焦點幾乎都集中在這個人物身上，從他的小角度出發，去紀錄整個大事件的殘酷和荒謬，令人非常有代入感。如果硬要在雞蛋裡頭挑骨頭，我覺得最後那場追逐高潮戲拍得過於戲劇化，顯得有點失真！ 影片的背景是韓國的光州事件，難免令人聯想到性質類似的中國八九天安門事件，但當權者過後對事件的態度和處理手法則截然不同！光州事件已經得到平反，當初武力鎮壓的人也已得到懲罰，而天安門事件…不用我說，大家都知道是怎麼一回事。所謂「以史為鏡，可以知興替」，敢於面對歷史、反省歷史、承認過失的民族才是有胸襟的民族，才有不斷進步超越的空間，從而變得更強大，例如德國和韓國。我在想，哪天我們中國也有如此胸襟，可以允許〈逆權司機〉這類捅政府舊傷疤、類似「照妖鏡」去鞭策當權者的政治電影存在、甚至上映？待到中國真有如此胸襟，它才算是真正的強國，到時所謂的甚麼台灣問題、南海問題等也不再是問題，但我覺得，有生之年，我應該不會見到那天來臨！

那是淡忘在記憶中的往事，通過這部影片，回憶像針頭一般一針一針地刺向心頭。 在看預告的時候，我只知道這是一個圍繞聽障的故事，但是在我觀看影片的時候，校園霸淩的展開令我猝不及防。〈聲之形〉是一部關於聽障、自殺、語言暴力以及校園霸淩的動畫電影。男主角將也對於突然轉學的又聽力障礙的硝子充滿了排斥，和周遭的同學做了許多過分甚至侮辱的事。後來導致硝子轉學，因為輿論，孩子王將也也從欺淩者淪為受欺淩者。後來，為了救贖自己，將也學習手語，並再次與硝子相遇… 雖然這部片子的邏輯比較混亂，各個爆點的原因也沒有很好的描述，以致於劇情發展的時候總有一種莫名其妙的感覺。但也許是故事本身已經足夠吸引人，所以兩個小時看下來，豁然開朗。〈聲之形〉更像是引你走出陰霾的天使，雖然曾經做了那樣可惡的事情，但是又有誰從來不曾自私過呢？盡己所能的彌補，最後——原諒自己。 和將也一樣，我小學時班裏也轉來一個聾啞女生。幸運的是，由於老師的極力煽動，大家對她熱情照顧。她生得一般，個子高，嘴也不小，卻很愛笑。我是極具同情心的人，交作業、點名我總是會敲敲她，她也會寫在紙上表達感謝。可是時間一長，因為喊她她也聽不見，說話啊…呃…像傻子，所以她免不了成為異類，她開始被孤立。有一次，我和她在校外相遇，她朝我微笑，但是因為朋友都在身邊，我害怕被起哄，沒有理會。回家後也會想她一定傷心透了。後來又一次見到，她又對我微笑，這一次我甚至將頭撇向一邊，加速離開。現在想起來，這個有聽力障礙的女孩需要多大的勇氣才能再次向一個不想理會她的人再一次微笑，也許當時的她真的只剩下我一個朋友吧。每每想起，我都很自責，也許我不經意的舉動，會給她留下多麼大的創傷。不過我很幸運，初中遇見她的時候，她已經學會打扮，臉上流露出自信的笑容，看得出隨著身邊人的成熟，她的真朋友越來越多。我沖他微笑，她發現了我，興奮地站起來朝我揮手。那種感覺難以名狀，只覺眼前的這個女孩實在美麗。 大多數電影都是一方自殺，另一方的救贖。而這部電影居然雙方都考慮了自殺，而且都失敗了。每一次提到自殺，我都會想起一個文豪——太宰治。他自殺三次未遂，還因為殉情連累了兩個女人。當他最後一次自殺時，他提筆在紙上寫下「生而為人，對不起」。寥寥七個字，震撼至極。看過他的《人間失格》之後，我總思考為什麼有的人會選擇自殺呢？通過〈聲之形〉，我好像明白：自殺的人極度...

★★★☆☆ I thought Baby the getaway driver would pull off spectacular stunts or tricks in the end to make it look fancier and more romantic, but nope, instead he chooses to face the music. Well, it’s quite understandable, but for a fancy action film as it seems right from the opening through the middle, such an ending is more or less of a disappointment! Other than that, ‘Baby Driver’ is a lot of joy though it’s labeled a crime action that’s supposed to be pretty serious! You feel enjoyable while something supposedly nerve-wrecking and dangerous like a heist is taking place. And you’re kind of worry-free and easy when Baby’s performing his magic moves that are in fact very risky. Yeah, that’s the way the film makes you feel. It’s weird and surreal but fun and fresh! Music is the soul of the film, since Baby can’t seem to get anything done without it. So you’re going to hear songs after songs right from the very beginning till the end. The film’s a perfect demonstration of music b...

★★★★★ The question is, would you rather keep up with the killing game and be part of this world inevitably becoming sicker and darker, or stay good, true and innocent even if that means being alienated and getting killed eventually? This is sort of a dilemma the opening narrative raises for our consideration. It may not seem to have anything to do with the plot, just like the title may seem completely irrelevant to the story itself, but that’s the theme hidden behind you have to keep in mind while watching such a masterpiece by Coen brothers! This is not a film you’d appreciate immediately right after first checkout. The more you watch it, the more you’d love it and understand what is really going on there, what those pictures without any bit of score try to convey, and why those characters think and act and talk like that. Some may feel like the pace is sometimes pretty slow, especially when it comes to Tommy Lee Jones’s part, but it actually works like a timeout where you ca...

★★★☆☆ This is an action-comedy! Keep that in mind, and you’re probably going to enjoy it! If you take it just an action film like any other serious one out there, you could be rather upset I guess because most of the scenes are actually too exaggerated to be making any sense. If you however, keep reminding yourself that it’s basically just a comedy that cares more about fun than facts, then you might find it quite exhilarating as it somehow manages to give you a sudden laugh or two when you don’t quite expect it at all, in spite of the carefree plot and notorious unkillable characters like the hitman, and his bodyguard! Some of the action scenes, though they may seem like sort of a joke if you take them too seriously, are in fact pretty well choreographed and impressive such as the chase on the streets of Amsterdam, hands down. And there’s one more thing that makes this film not only more interesting but also rather nostalgic. That is, those good old songs to be reminiscent of...