Almost Buddhist - 戲‧論

  ★★★☆☆ I like the apocalyptic setup in the film just as that in famous video game ‘The Last of Us’, quiet but full of danger, brutal but filled with humanity, bleak but somewhat encouraging. Whether you like the plot is another story. Sometimes I wish where we stay would turn into a quiet place just like that, so we’d be obliged to learn how to appreciate life again, and not to take anything for granted, not even a tiny ant travelling on the ground or a little flower dancing in the wind. As 2018’s ‘ A Quiet Place ’ drops us in the aftermath of some kind of alien invasion without any heads up at all, ‘A Quiet Place Part II’ takes us right back to Day 1 to see how it all begins as it opens. But still we’re not told what those alien creatures really are; where they come from; what they are here for; how come they have to wipe out anything that makes sounds. It seems like they’re doing it not because they’re hungry but then what for?; what do they eat?; how do they reproduce?; do th...

  ★★☆☆☆ To be honest, I’m not really into horror films that feature ghosts, spirits, witches, demons or any other religious stuff. I’m more like a melodrama guy so this kind of scary material could sometimes play out like a comedy to me, but of course if you’re one of those who just can’t get enough of being scared the shit out, ‘The Conjuring’ franchise will not let you down I guess. At least it doesn’t seem like a joke. Since ‘The Conjuring’ cases are all based on so called true supernatural happenings, the tone of it is basically dark, ominous and serious. That being said, 2013’s ‘ The Conjuring ’ doesn’t impress me much with a decent setup but a rather disappointing finish! So I let ‘The Conjuring 2’ pass! And now the horror continues with ‘The Devil Made Me Do It’. Alright, you may ask, why would I not let this one pass as well? Well, first, people were praising it, saying it’s juicy and scary. And I wanted to know if it’s them or just me. Second, I was super bored. Yea, I k...

  ★☆☆☆☆ Oh my, I just can’t believe it. This is the ninth installment of the ‘ Saw ’ series already. How many years has it been since the first appeared to sweep us off our feet? Well, I don’t remember when I started to feel fed up and decided to call it quits, maybe right after ‘Saw V’. All I remember is ‘Saw’ and ‘Saw II’ that really were something out of the ordinary back there. They’re still like the best of that can’t be surpassed. That, serving like a curse unfortunately, makes all those sequels they promised to make every once a year afterwards more or less a joke, including this latest one! Critically speaking, ‘Spiral: From the Book of Saw’ feels like an outsider, though there’re still bloody sickening traps that make you want to turn away, and the same old familiar ‘I wanna play a game’ ritual, plus of course plot twists. The whole tone of it nonetheless, feels so not ‘Saw’ which is supposed to be serious, nerve-wracking and even a bit depressing. Maybe it’s something ...