Almost Buddhist - 戲‧論

★★☆☆☆ The two-star rating is for first, those enjoyable songs and music, especially the Coldplay’s ‘Yellow’ cover that is lyrically good and a bit touching, and second, the sort of shocking news about Rachel’s family revealed in the end that actually works like an in time wake-up call as I was considering the film a complete turnoff. I started dozing off just 30 minutes into the film to be honest. To me it’s like a boring Cinderella story without fancy stuff like glass shoes, or more specifically, a travelogue to Singapore! I know it’s supposed to make me laugh but I don’t find any of their jokes or acting funny anyway! It gets attention just because it’s the first Hollywood film featuring all Chinese. Well, they’re really not Chinese though. They’re just bananas—yellow on the outside but white on the inside! Being yellow speaking Chinese doesn’t make you Chinese! Being yellow speaking English doesn’t make you not either. It’s more than just skin colors and languages but of co...

★☆☆☆☆ 通常韓片能殺到香港，應該有一定知名度及可觀性。「〈再見‧我的初戀〉在韓國吸引了 2,606,571人次進場，票房更超越〈藉著雨點再愛你〉成為韓國2018最賣座愛情片」以上是韓國愛情片〈再見‧我的初戀〉在香港戲院上映時的宣傳語句。但首先，〈藉著雨點再愛你〉未看到一半，我已經放棄，雖然主角孫藝珍曾經是我的女神──皆因那齣〈假如愛有天意〉，實在太經典，導致日後我都無法在其他愛情片裡，重拾那份感動。再者，大家要看清楚，宣傳是說「韓國2018最賣座愛情片」，不是「韓國2018最賣座電影」。目前為止，韓國2018最賣座的電影是〈與神同行2〉──又一齣我未看到一半就放棄的電影！ 好似講了一大堆，都還沒入主題講這部戲，事實是，這部戲令我很無語！以為在看韓版〈 500 Days of Summer 〉或〈 那些年 〉，一路期待劇情有扭轉或驚喜，唉、一句講完：賣下(令人滴汗無聊透極漫畫式的)萌加幾滴(非常勉強所以煽不起情的)眼淚！ 「愛情，總是要看時機的」，這是電影反覆強調的主題，真是畫公仔畫出腸！因緣果是宇宙法則。有因，無緣，無果；無因，有緣，亦無果。所謂的時機其實是緣的一種，你每天出門遇到那麼多面孔，都是有因，但你跟他們不會認識，因為無緣。就算有因有緣，都未必有 (你想要的)果，視乎你以及他人創造甚麼緣。一件事要成，涉及很多複雜的緣，我們能做的就是 隨緣盡份 ，盡到甚麼程度？底線是，不傷害他人及自己。無論戲中的兩位如何總是錯過時機，但最後男主角的選擇倒是非常正確──畢竟，愛不是佔有，是成全！

★★★★☆ 如果不是因為影片那個令人驚訝心酸的結局，我真的沒甚麼想說。不是因為這部電影很差，相反，這是一部非常值得大家去細味的電影，當中有關兩性關係、人與人的相處、婚姻、母愛、親情種種畫面，都是入心入肺的。「紀念日」無論是劇本、音樂、演員 ( 除了方力申 ) 、故事等各方面，都是很到位的！我看完沒甚麼好說，是因為關於愛情，好像我過去都說了不少，不想老調重彈了。再者、「愛」永遠都是說不清的，只能用心去感受，然後跟著感覺走，而感覺是主觀非理性的，所以擺在各人前面的，無論是單身還是在戀愛，是結婚還是離過婚，有子女還是不想要負累，永遠是揮之不去的掙扎與悔恨！ 這是一部一不小心就會讓你落淚的電影，但一點都不煽情，一切自然流露，那個度掌握得非常好。可能因為經歷多了，見識多了，現在看這類愛情電影已經很難會流淚，類似看「我的父親母親」從頭哭到尾的情況，應該不會再發生了！裡頭某些場景，角色的內心掙扎，刺激神經的對白和獨白，還是相當催淚的，但我始終沒哭，因為我知道激動的內心說話或者慾望，無論說出來或表現出來是多麼感人，終究是虛妄、是輪迴不斷的動力。人世間有種種的紀念日，因為我們有種種的放不下！ 無止境的恨與無條件的愛，其實是同一樣東西。若無相欠，怎會相見？人與人之間的關係，說穿了，無非就是討債還債、報恩報怨而已！某人會無止境的恨你，因為前世你欠他的；某人會無條件的愛你，因為前世他欠你的。所謂冤冤相報何時了，恩恩相欠也是沒完沒了的，可是人活在這個世間，又很難做到無拖無欠，無所執著。這個世界因為不圓滿所以是圓滿的！有時，除了這樣安慰自己，我已找不到其他讓我繼續的理由！

★★★★☆ The film opens with an exhilarating piece of music hinting that it’s probably a heart-warming, delightful, optimistic romance story. And yes, it is. I like the tone of it; the phone-back-in-time thing; the ambiguous ending; how it views love and relationship; and the script that manages to stay light and joyful, also a little bit intriguing about what happened and is happening to the pair, though there’s inevitably few moments of sentimentality. This is actually a very good flick for a couple to check out on coming Christmas! I guess everybody’s looking or waiting for their so called perfect better half, but the thing is, like it’s said in the film, ‘there’s no perfect. There will always be struggle. You just need to choose who you gonna struggle with.’ Love’s not filling the void of loneliness or weightlessness or anything you so hate feeling. Love’s about the choices you make, and the responsibilities you have to bear with it. If you can’t take it, or say, aren’t ready...

★★★☆☆ 影片的精采在於用不同的視野，去陳述同一件事情，效果出色，令人意外。當然，所謂的「意外」，是相對於我們這些經常以自私角度去思考的人而言。至於過程是否浪漫有趣，則見仁見智。影片多少喚起我讀書時一些美好回憶，當中最經典的莫過於：你喜歡一個人的時候，你反而會做一些讓她反感的事！情節是有趣的，但浪漫就顯得有點造作了。這個世界還有沒有像徐太宇 ( 王大陸 ) 那樣，真正懂得如何去「愛」或「相信愛」的人？不敢說沒有，但更多人是相信徐太宇只屬於電影，不屬於現實！現實會磨滅我們內心曾經真實存在過的純真！長大其實是一個陷阱，成熟是無奈的悲哀！ 想不到我到了這個階段，還會多少被〈我的少女時代〉這樣的東西打動。或許你我的內心雖然不再「天真瘋狂」，但對愛與被愛的渴求依然存在，對找到完美伴侶依然憧憬。徐太宇是完美的，也是超現實的，如此比〈 那些年 〉更超現實的電影讓我們又重新做了一回「孩子」，狠狠地摑了現實一巴掌，但打完後，我們就趕忙道歉兼安撫，只把內心的「孩子」當成回憶！

★★★☆☆ Well, seeing ‘Begin Again’ is like listening to an album of bittersweet pop rock/folk songs basically about love. The story doesn’t really matter, does it? But I quite appreciate the ending as a matter of fact, not romantically happy but very encouraging! The problem is, I don’t like Maroon 5’s Adam Levine as a singer or an actor, his voice and the way he sings, very much of a sissy. ‘Begin Again’, Director John Carney’s second musical film since 2007’s ‘ Once ’, appears not as poetic and sad. You may or may not like it but exhilarating and hopeful is how it feels like! Guess most of us are going to come back here to begin again because we’re always hopeful for a better life, but you know there’s no such a thing. What seems better will soon be replaced by something that we think is much better, but it certainly can’t be. It’s like there’s a hole we can never quite fill but we strongly believe we can. Truth is, we’ve come to begin again many many times before to try to fi...

★★★☆☆ In ‘Her’, you can’t see her throughout. You can only hear her voice, Scarlett Johansson’s, that may sound sexy and attractive to some, but that’s exactly what makes me not able to feel completely involved. But no doubt, it takes no less than a genius to write a beautiful, sentimental script like that. And it’s got a poetic feel of romance and the weirdest yet subtlest sex scene that you may or may not like, but I do, kind of. Can you really fall in love with just a voice that sounds like it understands and knows and loves you? Can you love someone without involving any physical contacts? Or are you just escaping from your fear of incapability to deal with real emotions and relationships? The pictures look a bit pathetic and lonely but it’s true that we’re, as the technology seems to be pulling us much closer, living more far apart from each other in fact. Now we don’t even wanna hear one’s voice. We prefer sending and receiving emotionless cold words instead of calling o...

★☆☆☆☆ 〈 海角七號 〉（後悔看了）跟日本人有關，〈 賽德克巴萊 〉（幸好沒看）跟日本人有關，〈 KANO 〉（不會看了）還是跟日本人有關。我覺得魏德聖不應該住在台灣，卻整天想念日本，他應該索性移民日本，變成日本人，拍日本戲！ 這部電影的「成功」，多少反映了還有不少台灣人懷念被日本人統治的時期，正如也有些香港人懷念被英國人統治一樣。中國人管中國人難道就是那麼專制刻薄？說到底，根本不關制度的問題或誰統治誰的問題，而是人貪婪的問題。如果人的這種根本劣根性解決了，就什麼問題都解決了，統治者與被統治者之間的永恆角力會消失，甚至沒有所謂的統治者與被統治者的分別。當然，這種理想不會出現，除非人人信行佛法！不過，我認為西方的民主制度，比起中國的中央集權制，在制衡人的慾望膨脹方面，是相對比較有效的。 人是喜歡犯賤的，總要等到失去才懂得珍惜。所以，我們只會抱怨眼前，懐緬過去，妄想未來。小孩想長大，長大的想變做小孩。寂寂無聞的想名利雙收，名利雙收的想遠離煩擾。結了婚的懷念單身的自由，單身的渴望結婚的幸福。沒孩子的想有個孩子，有孩子的想擺脫孩子的束縛。有工作的想退休，退休的嫌沒事做悶得慌。我們就是如此生活在種種緊張與矛盾之中，因為我們「散亂」，缺乏「正念」。而沒有「正念」主要因為我們不知道我們從哪裡來，將往哪裡而去！ 這部電影根本不值一提。沒有什麼好看，沒有什麼好說，也沒有什麼好想。我越來越覺得：其實，沒有什麼地方，沒有什麼時光，沒有什麼人或事，真的值得去朝思暮想，除了阿彌陀佛的尊嚴淨土！

★★☆☆☆ 假如回到十年前，這樣一部電影應該會令我又笑又哭，但現在，特別在學佛之後，在這類愛情故事當中，我已經感覺不到絲毫浪漫或偉大，我看到的全部都是「我愛」所衍生出來的執著，由執著所帶給自己跟別人的巨大痛苦。 一部電影是否好看，很大程度視乎你處於人生的哪個階段去看。但比較客觀地說，這部電影真的沒有什麼可觀之處，唯一欣慰的算是男女主角自然投入的演出。而影片從前半段的輕鬆調皮，到後半段的沉重抑鬱，中間的過度十分突兀。故事開頭是有些許驚喜的，當期望往後會有驚喜的劇情來解釋這份驚喜的時候，展現在眼前的卻又是一個老土的愛情故事！導演或許應該多點向韓國導演偷師，韓國人拍這類愛情故事向來是高手，不論故事多麼老掉牙，總能拍出催人淚下的氛圍來，當中或許音樂扮演著一個重要的角色。這部電影的音樂實在不濟！ 很多世俗人眼中的「好東西」，在佛看來卻是驅動輪迴的「壞東西」，即是「苦本」，「愛」是其中之一。「來時歡喜去時悲，空在人間走一回，不如不來亦不去，亦無歡喜亦無悲」，因為有「愛」，所以有「來」，因為有「來」，所以有「一切苦」，但要靠自力斷「愛」，在這個惡世，幾乎是不可能辦到的事情！男主角最後為女主角戴上戒指那一幕，看得我百般唏噓無奈！

★★☆☆☆ 不要誤會，〈致〉並非大陸版的〈 那些年 〉，它整體的格調是嚴肅多於頑皮，哀傷多於搞笑，沉鬱多於熱血。瓊瑤電視劇的乏味情節，緩慢的節奏，造做的陽光畫面，無甚演技的演員，片長超過兩小時，除了兩段幾秒長的 Suede 音樂外，整齣戲幾乎沒有音樂襯托，只有環境聲音加對白，更要命的是，我不喜歡 Brett Anderson 那妖艷悽慘的聲音，跟「青春」根本就不搭調嘛。這部趙薇的處女作，比起同樣演而優則導的姜文的〈 陽光燦爛的日子 〉，感覺差遠了。 〈致〉講的是一些頭腦發熱的愛情故事，頭腦發熱現象多發生在青春期，電影頭半部分講青春的人怎麼去愛，後半部分講不再青春的人怎麼看青春。對於愛情， 我是這麼看的 。至於青春的時候，應不應該響應發熱的頭腦，不顧一切去愛？當然，你有你的選擇，但記得，每個選擇都有代價，都是煩惱。除非你超越三界，脫離輪迴，要不然，你所謂的自由意志的選擇，全都只是自己的業力使然，說實話，你並不自由！ 想當年，我也曾經頭腦發熱過，現在也偶爾會熱一下，但已經不會（特別是學佛之後）再為愛情而哭天搶地，痴痴呆呆了。不顧一切去愛，其實是一種非常自私的行為，是頭腦發熱的病症，是一切苦的開始。可惜，我們總是要在不顧一切去愛過、撞得頭破血流之後才有這種覺悟。或許，一切都是青春的錯吧！ 影片唯一可圈可點之處是其結尾──乾脆俐落，不拖泥帶水，甚有韻味。如果沒有這個頗浪漫的「自圓其說」的驚喜結局，這部電影就真的是 trash 了。

★★★☆☆ If you consider ‘Silver Linings Playbook’ a pep talk or a sort of conventional romance, you’re wrong. It’s a bit off the wall actually. First off, the characters, like the potential couple, Pat and Tiffany played by Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence, and their friends and families are all troubled, problematic and awkward. Go check it out, and you’ll know what I mean. Second, the songs chosen are not at all sweet like they’re supposed to be for a love story, but they kind of get you excited. Third, the plot is somewhat tricky. It may bore you at first with trash talks, but if you stay patient and focused, you’ll be rewarded with quite a romantic, heartwarming ending. ‘Silver Linings Playbook’ does show you that every cloud indeed has a silver lining that may not be so obvious sometimes but you’ll see it anyhow. It’s weird but fun! The dance competition in the end is quite of an inspiration. Pat and Tiffany only wish to score 5 out of 10 to win a bet, and to prove tha...

★★☆☆☆ 因為工作的關係，硬啃了《聊齋》之〈畫壁〉。不喜歡這部電影──薄弱的故事，沉悶的畫面和敘事手法，角色的錯配（孫儷怎麼看也不像是仙女，鄧超怎麼看也不像是書生），還有馬虎的特效。但，喜歡它蘊含的佛理──幻由心生。那人間是幻，還是那仙境是幻？其實，兩者都是幻，都是因凡夫的執取所生，都是依因待緣的有為法，正如蒲松齡所言：人有淫心，是生褻境；人有褻心，是生怖境。菩薩點化愚蒙，千幻並作，皆人心所自動耳。我們無法知道何謂幻，何謂真，因為我們沒有平常心──不比較、不執著的心。 戲中的書生最後請問大師：為何一剎那間會出現那麼多悲歡離合？因為一剎那間，心就有萬千念頭，只是我們平常不能留意罷了，靜觀的時候，你就知道心猿意馬的自己是何等恐怖。都說成佛要經歷三大阿僧祇劫（一段超乎你想像的長時間），但其實當你成佛之後回頭望，所謂的三大阿僧祇劫也只不過是一剎那而已！

★★★☆☆ If this film wasn’t based on a true story between a real couple, it’d be like a total cliché that’d certainly turn everyone off. Since it is, it does give a comforting feeling that there’re still good souls left that truly believe in love and practice it unselfishly. ‘The Vow’ is a story about how you should keep your vow even if your better half forgets who you are and seems to be walking away from you after having a brain injury in a car accident. It’s rather educational for men I guess, especially those who like playing the field and no longer believe in relationships. The man (Channing Tatum) demonstrates how true love’s supposed to be like. That is to love someone for who they are rather than who you think they ought to be. It sounds like nothing new, but it’s indispensable that you keep it in mind if you want a happy life for yourself or with anyone out there. People in the film all seem very kind and caring. There’s basically no villain. So it’s romantic but ...

★★★★☆ As the tagline goes, this is not a love story but a story about love. I think it is, but an unconventional one. You’d feel ambivalent towards this film that seems romantic but not quite; sounds funny but serious; poignant but hopeful. It’s a story that neither has a happy ending nor an unhappy one. The way it goes is also interesting enough. 500 days with Summer are shuffled and presented in disorder, but what’s amazing is that it’s not confusing at all. Yeah, it’s about love. What is love then? Love’s certainly not anything you can buy and keep. It’s merely a delusional spark or an instinct feeling that’d carry you away and make you feel like the world’s so wonderful, or the complete opposite, just like Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) experiences in the film. Love’s unpredictable and elusive. It could appear this moment and be gone the next. Like Summer (Zooey Deschanel) says, you can never be sure about it. That’s why we’re all dosed by it. Truth is, love’s neither a good ...

★★☆☆☆ 一班韓國人，跑到美國的西雅圖去拍了這部講英語、國語和韓語的愛情文藝片。女主角是〈色戒〉的「花瓶」湯唯，樣貌平凡，演技還是一般，缺乏感染力。男主角是韓國電視明星玄彬，本來他就不是甚麼帥哥，在戲中他卻要梳飛機頭扮不羈，實在令人難受。可這部戲在大陸的票房卻意外的好，再次證明大陸的觀眾的確比我們──噢，不，應該說是比我更有文藝細胞啊！ 〈晚秋〉這個戲名已經預示了電影冷悽的格調。片長兩個小時，前一個半小時是催眠，後半個小時開始入戲肉，最後那場堪稱為韓國影史上持續時間最長的接吻戲是高潮。怎麼，一場接吻戲竟然是高潮？沒錯。平心而論，那場戲確實拍得不錯，很有爆炸力，也彰顯絲絲不捨與無奈。「愛」是我們浮沉輪迴苦海的根本，但我們卻樂此不疲。戲中湯唯飾演的那位安娜，為愛付出了沉重代價，但舊痛未消，就又不由自主地墮入另一個「愛」的陷阱，人就是這麼犯賤。這部戲一點都不浪漫，喜歡浪漫愛情片的觀眾，可要三思而入場哦。 這部戲也印證了一個事實：中國人說英語，確實比韓國人要強很多啊！

(2011)  ★★★★☆ ‘One Day’ is extracted from things that take place on a particular day, July 15 th , between Emma (Anne Hathaway) and Dexter (Jim Sturgess) from 1988 to 2011. They hit it off on their college graduation but I guess they think of each other more like a friend than a proper date. They after all don’t have sex even though they end up in bed together on the first day they meet. I consider sex the necessity in love, but we don’t pretend to love just to have sex, do we? If you do, I don’t because I simply can’t. I think the reason why they don’t have sex as they’re supposed to is that they have different point of view on sex and love, and essentially, which must come first in a proper relationship. Does Emma love Dexter? Absolutely. Does Dexter love Emma? I doubt. He prefers playing the field to having a life-long partner. He’s far too young to realize what he’s doing would only bring him sorrow and pain later. They’re meant to be together, but tell you what, it’s no...

(2011)  ★★★☆☆ Without the unexpected ending, this film could be like just a cup of tasteless water to me. The story is told in a very slow pace and an undramatic way. The characters are pretty dull. Their performances are by no means impressive. The images are vivid but not so imaginative. Nonetheless, if you can stick till it ends, you’ll be amazed to find that it’s after all not so bad, and your patience is so worth it. A man, a science fictionist, decides to write a short story every day to make his wife laugh after learning that she’s dying of cancer, because he’s told by the doctor that laughter can improve his wife’s immune system so that she may be able to live longer than probably just a year. He keeps writing funny stories and his wife seems to have recovered during their journey to Hokkaido for a big tree under the deep blue sky. But turns out it’s nothing but a lie. She herself knows right from the moment her husband decides to write her a story every day, that sh...

 (2010)  ★★★☆☆ Is it a good film? Well, I don't think so. Is it bad? I don't think so, either. I'd call it an average love story that may get to touch you if you still have faith that love could be an adjustment for your life to get better. I'm a bit moved by the plot, though it doesn't seem quite exciting in the beginning. I'm convinced that sincerity and courage are all you need to win yourself true love. I'm entertained as well by Paul Rudd and Jack Nicholson's humorous performances. This is after all not a lousy film though most of the critics don't like it. The DVD will be out soon. Go check it out for yourself. Remember, it requires a little bit of your patience to slowly feel involved.

 (2010)  ★★★☆☆ If you think 'Blue Valentine' is a romantic flick with a little bit of blue, you're wrong, because there's basically nothing but pain. If you think it's going to move you by telling you a sad love story, you're wrong again, because the story itself is not at all sad. It's reality that we're sick of coping with, and yet we have to. It tells in a documentary-style a story of how romance must eventually give way to reality; how dangerous it is to go promiscuous; how unwise it is to let passions take over. What is marriage for? What is love? Why do we need it? Why do we still want it as it always seems to break our heart in the end? Love at first sight is the most common way for people to fall in love. Dean (Ryan Gosling) falls head over heels for Cindy (Michelle Williams) at first sight too. It seems romantic. Yet it's, if you analyze it, pretty stupid and risky. Just think about it. Nothing in the world is permanent. When you...

 (2010)  ★★☆☆☆ This film is based on Elizabeth Gilbert's 'Eat Pray Love' that is unread by me. I don't intend to. I have no interest in such a film either. Again it was just my job. I had no choice. If I had, I wouldn't have wasted 2 hours on tasteless things like this. 'Sweetness of doing nothing', that's what Liz (Julia Roberts) learns in Italy, the first stop of her one-year self-rediscovery trip to balance her body and mind in particular. Her next is India and then Bali, where she's taught how to meditate and love again. What a nice trip huh? Sure it is, only if you're rich enough to be able to do nothing but eat, pray, and love mindfully. If you aren't, forget about it, because this journey is going to cost you a lot of money. If you think you'd be inspired or rekindled or be reminded of who you really are or how your life's supposed to be like and stuff after taking a journey like Liz's, you're not seeing the real...