Almost Buddhist - 戲‧論

(2007)  ★★★☆☆ (2009)  ★★★☆☆ (2012)  ★★☆☆☆   記得小時候，其實也不小了，大概是讀中學的時候，在電視上看過〈新世紀福音戰士〉，總共 26 集，應該有全部看完吧，也不是太肯定，感覺是：很 cult ，口水多過茶，前半部分還好好的，後半部分就「精神分裂」了，哦，不對，應該說是「哲學式精神分析」，總之當時我看得一頭煙，也難怪，因為它根本就不是拍給小孩子看的，大人也未必看得明白。 〈新世紀福音戰士：序〉、〈破〉其實是電視版的總括與小小補充，如果你有看過電視版，〈序〉、〈破〉可以不看，如果從來不知「福音戰士」是什麼玩意，看〈序〉、〈破〉就可以了，電視版可免。〈 Q 〉是另一回事，到底是怎麼一回事？我也不是太清楚，個人覺得沒有坊間說得那麼「神」就是了，反而覺得這個系列越來越故弄玄虛、自圓其說。聽說還有最後一部曲，我想 I’ll let it pass ！以免自己想得太多，精神分裂！ 〈新世紀福音戰士〉裡面有很多宗教名詞和象徵符號，譬如什麼使徒、亞當、夏娃、莉莉絲，到底象徵什麼，我不是神學博士，所以不明白，其實也不需要特別去明白，我想導演想凸顯的，無非是人的種種陰暗面和醜陋特質，從而導致心靈上的自我封閉、隔絕，最終走向自毀，當中不乏暴力、血腥、色情。一個人言行越開放，往往他的內裡就越保守，他其實是用開放的外表去掩飾內心的保守，這類表裡不一，實際是一種自我保護機制，有時自然得連自己都很難察覺，日本人甚是如此，是一個相當壓抑的民族。〈新世紀福音戰士〉這類作品，也只有日本人才拍得出來，作者庵野秀明我覺得是一個天才，也是一個變態！ 在看這部動畫的時候，是不需要想太多的，因為不想不明白，想了也未必明白，未必對。無論是電視版，還是電影版，裡頭對於一些事件或事物，例如什麼是 Eva ，什麼是使徒，怎麼來的，有什麼目的，兩者有什麼關聯；所謂的第一、二次衝擊是什麼回事，原因為何，有何結果，戲裡的那班人是否真的是「人」，哦，人到底是什麼等等，其解釋和表達都是含糊的，畢竟都是些見仁見智的東西嘛。不過，我覺得，如果你先了解佛陀所說的「一切法由心想生」或「一切法是我，我是一切法」的道理，對理解它的含意會有一定的幫助，但還是那句，你（我）的理解只是你（我）的理解。 欣賞〈新...

★★★☆☆ 丹麥電影〈誣網〉配樂接近零、並不煽情，相反，它以近似紀錄片的寫實方式拍攝，故事平鋪直敘，起落不大、驚喜欠逢，但人物表現自然，男主角演技出眾，導演拍出了一種哀傷無奈的氛圍。 看罷，腦海浮現四個字：人言可畏。特別是當一些誣蔑乃出自一個小孩之口的時候，其殺傷力更是驚人，因為我們都會先入為主地認為，小孩是不懂說謊的，特別是那些讓他們不快的事情，他們更不會刻意隱瞞。但那些所謂的不快是真的發生過，亦或只是小孩的純真謊言？這個大人們就懒得去判別了。結果就造成如〈誣網〉一般的悲劇！ 我說小孩「純真」，可能大家會有點皺眉。看看當今社會，小孩犯罪比比皆是。看戲當天早上，打開報紙，又看到報導說一個 6 歲的小孩用槍轟斃了隔壁的小孩……但我依然相信小孩是純真無辜的，錯都在我們大人身上。戲中的那個小女孩，沒錯，看上去是帶有點邪氣，這是導演的刻意安排吧，但我始終認為她並非存心誣蔑無辜的人，只是她受到身邊一些不良訊息的影響，加上想像力過於豐富罷了。很多時候，小孩覺得好玩刺激的事，我們大人都不以為然，他們童言無忌，有時我們卻照單全收，錯不在他們，錯在我們大人沒有耐心去了解溝通，沒有智慧去判斷真假。更可怕的是，當我們都相信同一個謊言的時候，那個謊言就自自然然成為真理。 因此佛陀再三叮囑我們要慎言，因為我們天天造口業，而口業的造作有時是殺人不見血的，所以戒妄語（謊話）是佛教基本五戒之一。而在十善業中，針對口業的就有四項：不妄語，不兩舌（挑撥是非），不惡口（粗魯的話），不綺語（花言巧語）。細心想想，我們有哪一天是完全不造以上這四種口業的，一天下來，我們說了多少其實不應該說的話，在不知不覺中，已經傷害無數人，包括我們自己。造業（有意或無意）會產生業力（造作過後的影響），所以不是說事情發生了，就成為過去式，其影響還會持續。正如結尾那一槍，是針對男主角的一種警惕，也是對我們的一種提醒。

★★★★☆ This is a surprisingly exhilarating piece of animation from Disney Studios whose ideas always seem pretty encouraging and out of the box, especially when you find life a little bit too disappointing and in the doldrums. ‘Wreck It, Ralph’, a story about a bad guy who longs to prove that he’s actually not so bad, involves a lot of funny characters from the games we used to play as a kid, like Street Fighters, Super Mario Bros, and many others I can’t really make head nor tail of. But no worries, even if you don’t know all about them, and may feel a bit perplexed at first, you’ll get to enjoy it and learn something after all, that is the necessity of realizing who you really should be, instead of being who you’re told to be. Just like Ralph says, I’m bad, and that’s good. I’ll never be good, and that’s not bad. When we were just a kid, we tended to believe that people out there, like those in the games we played, were either good or bad. There was basically nothing in betw...

★★★★☆ Jessica Chastain’s Maya, the only one in the world 100% sure that Bin Laden’s in a compound in Pakistan rather than in some caves in Afghanistan, is picked up like a VIP and asked, after pulling off her hunt for OBL, ‘where’d you want to go?’ She however, looks poignant, helpless and lost all of a sudden, with tears streaming down her face. She chokes, and can hardly answer the question. Are those tears of joy? The joy of finally being able to gain justice and avenge the innocent? I don’t think so! ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ is Kathryn Bigelow’s latest since her 2008’s Oscar-winning ‘ The Hurt Locker ’. Compared with THL, actions in ZDT are few but very intense. The last 30 minutes of the film really is a masterpiece of example of how a real exciting action sequence’s supposed to be like. It manages to take my breath even though I already know (everybody does) that the S.E.A.L. team’s going to make it for sure. The whole plot basically centers on Maya’s madness and perseverance...

現在環顧四週，不難發現，大家都在府首喪玩 Candy Crush ，喪到廢寢忘食，第二天睡眼惺忪起床、上班，搭巴士的時候，還是繼續玩，就算病魔降臨，依然無法阻止你吃「糖」，大家好像吸了毒，欲罷不能。就算連從來都不打機的公司清潔阿姐，都在埋頭苦幹吃 Candy 。到底這個遊戲有什麼魔力？ Candy Crush 很自然讓我聯想到四個字──玩物喪志。我記得友人說過，玩物喪志不一定是消極的，相反，玩物必須喪志，否則你不能體會當中的樂趣。其實他說得對，做事應該投入，勇往直前，永不放棄。如果凡事都是三分鐘熱度，最終很可能是一事無成。玩 Candy 和做任何事情都一樣，需要的就是那份堅持的態度和毅力。做事如此，在修行上，也應稟承這種「喪志」的態度，因為只有「喪志」，你才能有「法喜」，有「法喜」，你才會真正地、自然地「精進」，而不是以強迫的，敷衍的、自己騙自己的方式去修行。當然，凡事都有代價。玩 Candy 喪志的代價可能是你的健康、一份工作、甚至一段關係等等；而修行「喪志」的代價就是你可能要經常吃虧、被人欺負。親人曾經對我說：可以信佛，但不能沉迷。我聽了之後只能搖頭苦笑。我笑我自己在學佛上還遠遠不夠「喪」，因為還有很多的放不下。一個人如果能夠以喪玩 Candy 的精神去投入學佛，那他一定能夠超越輪迴。無奈，夠「喪」的佛子始終是少數，大多數人還是「理性」地自認為學佛太「喪」不是好事！ 我覺得，玩 Candy 沒有任何秘訣，只有四個字──隨緣盡份。 Candy 其中一個好玩的地方就是有些東西你是不能控制的，例如上面掉什麼糖果下來，數量多少，能否掉在適當的位置，能否撞出你想要的特別糖果，這些都是你無法控制的「緣」。這些緣每次都不同，因此你每次過關的機率也不同。有人說玩的次數越多，過關的機會就越高，這點我懷疑。有時你無心插柳，反而輕鬆過關。有時你步步精心計算，卻偏偏相差太遠，因為「緣」作怪嘛。有些關卡一看就大叫 mission impossible ，讓人沮喪得幾乎要 delete 整個遊戲，但只要堅持，等待「緣」的到來，最終還是可以「關關難過關關過」的，而奇蹟往往是在最後幾個 move 才出現。很多時候，我們距離成功只是差那麼一小步，但就是在跨出那一小步之前，我們就被之前的種種失敗說服而放棄。如此，就與成功的那種亢奮無緣了，也無法體會什麼叫 impossibl...

★★★★☆ 〈愛 (Amour) 〉是一部令人非常「難受」的電影。 通常一部電影能催人淚下，靠的都是感人的配樂，但〈愛〉可以說是一部完全沒有配樂的電影，包括片頭和片尾。除了片中演員演奏和播放 CD 的那幾下鋼琴聲之外，其餘的就是演員的對白，然後就是靜謐，過程中你甚至可以經常聽到自己的呼吸聲。那種死寂感，令人「難受」！ 電影 98% 的鏡頭，都是在兩位老人居住的那間 apartment 裡轉來轉去，其他景象完全欠缺，連丁點兒窗外的景色都沒有，除了兩個場景：一個是開頭的那場鋼琴表演（但鏡頭拍的不是演奏者，而是看演奏的觀眾）；另一個就是當男主角發惡夢的時候。那種空間局促感，令人「難受」！ 奧地利導演 Michael Haneke 最擅長拍一些令人「難受」的電影，目的是揭露社會的病態，以及告訴大家，其實人性可以很極端。未必人人接受他的電影，也未必人人接受他最喜歡的拍攝手法──長鏡頭──就是一 take 過，沒剪接，沒特效，沒配樂，很多時候甚至不移動鏡頭，而且一段戲的長度起碼都超過 5 分鐘（非常考驗演員演技，片中那兩位法國老演員的演技──真是無可挑剔）。〈愛〉幾乎有八成的戲都用長鏡頭拍攝，對白平淡，甚少鏡頭切換。那種沉悶寫實感，令人「難受」！ 〈愛〉的主題是令人難受的老、病、死。到底如何去面對人生這三大苦，而當眼巴巴看著親人至愛被這三大苦折磨的時候，我們又應該如何去面對。我們都喜歡「生」，不喜歡「死」；喜歡「青春健康」，不喜歡「老病」。我們不斷追求「好消息」，逃避「壞消息」，而不能接受：「壞」與「好」如同一枚硬幣的兩面，不可分割。而在過程中，我們往往都選擇用極端的手段去解決，令我們的人生苦上加苦。就像電影的結局，令人「難受」加「難受」！面對如此令人「難受」的電影，是選擇堅持看完，還是中途離開，多少都反映你面對人生的態度。 但，「難受」的電影不代表它不好看，沒價值。恰恰相反，它能逼我們去反省，去睜開眼睛看一看，到底我們的心哪兒出了問題。〈愛〉令人「難受」，所以它震撼、刺痛我們的心。今屆奧斯卡最佳外語片的殊榮，實至名歸啊！

★★★★★ Shame that I don’t know much about Abraham Lincoln. All I’ve learned about him is, he was born into a very poor family and self taught himself into a lawyer. He failed many times before he was elected the President of United States, twice. He was so determined to end slavery and the civil war, and he finally did with his political wisdom. He’s considered the greatest President ever in American history. I can’t disagree! Steven Spielberg’s ‘Lincoln’, a serious dialogue-driven historical drama, concentrates on Lincoln’s last few months of life, telling how he manages to achieve passage of an Amendment that would end slavery once and for all, and bring peace to the States; how he’s able to get his foes and friends together to back up his moves and attain his goals. He was indeed a very smart politician, but he wasn’t doing it for his own benefits. He was doing it as an example for the entire world that freedom, equality, and peace are never easy, but it’s certainly worth f...

★★☆☆☆ ‘Sinister’ seems scary and disturbing indeed as the truth’s finally revealed telling who’s behind all the killings. It does kinda shock you and deliver a sense of nausea that may not be so welcomed by a viewer like me. I can’t help wondering how they’d be that ruthless and cold-blooded. All I can think of is, they’re either obsessed or dosed. Yet the real motive is unknown. It seems to be part about the paranormal, part about a sick serial killer. I don’t know what it’s really about actually. The performances are flat. Things are dramatized in a way that doesn’t quite make sense. Would a man always go alone out there in the dark fighting with the sinister with just a knife or a baseball bat? I don’t think so. And there’re a lot of I-don’t-think-so things for you to find out in the film. Of course if you ask for nothing but a skin-deep horror film with so-called a twist ending, or simply just wanna get sick, this is the film for you. Well, it’s not that it’s trash. It’s just...

★★★☆☆ 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...

★★★★★ This film’s based on a true catastrophe triggered by the Indian Ocean Earthquake back in 2004. It’s about how the couple, Maria (Naomi Watts) and Henry (Ewan McGregor), and 3 of their kids are split up when the horrifying tsunami hits the villa they stay in Thailand, and miraculously get reunited in the end. Sounds impossible? Yes, but what seems more impossible is that, though Maria’s seriously injured and anguished after battering the swirling current and being stopped by her son, she still decides to ignore her own safety and go help out a strange little boy. Right, you may not believe it, but it was truly happening! ‘The Impossible’ is more than good in terms of excellent sound effects and great performances, especially by Naomi Watts who’s been nominated for this year’s Academy Award for Best Actress. Ewan and Tom Holland, the father and the eldest son in the film, also deliver impressive performances as supportive characters. The tsunami special effects are such a...

★★★★☆ ‘Flight’ opens with a naked woman waking up to a morning alarm call. Beside her lies a man (Denzel Washington) reluctant to get up, seemingly suffering a hangover. On the nightstand beside him are bottles of hard drinks and cigarettes, suggesting he’s a heavy drinker & smoker. We don’t know his name, and what he does just yet. Here comes something shocking, this guy has to suck cocaine before he can finally get out of the room and get to work. Now we know, judging by the uniform he puts on, that he’s an airline pilot. Right, you may’ve guessed, as you see in the trailer, that he’s going to cause the plane crash. Yes, the plane’s going to crash but it’s got nothing to do with his addictions to alcohol and drugs. He kind of saves the day on the contrary. It makes him a hero, just not the one people normally see, but the one he needs for himself. ‘Flight’ marks the return of Academy Award winning (1994’s Forrest Gump) Director Robert Zemeckis to live action films since...

★★★★☆ I wonder, who Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz) is; how a doctor, or say, a dentist-turned-bounty hunter pops up out of nowhere in the middle of the night, sets Django (Jamie Foxx) free, and sets out to hunt bastards; why he wants to risk his own life to help Django fulfill his presumably ridiculous wish; why he believes that a nigger’s right to be on a horse while everybody else thinks that’s absolutely unacceptable; how he could be that fearless, determined, helpful, and loving kind in a sense. Well… ‘Django Unchained’, Quentin Tarantino’s latest, is as awesome, exhilarating and engrossing as his previous ‘ Inglorious Basterds ’. In the film, he shows off his ingenious directorial skills in terms of witty, zaggy dialogues, appropriate castings, a great setup for the final painful and explosive, and you know what, nothing’s more entertaining than the music Tarantino chose for the film. Slavery is but a backdrop, and in front it a story of a set-free nigger struggling ...

★★★☆☆ 我不是王家衛粉絲，也不好王家衛電影，他的電影我沒有看過完整的一部。之前友人介紹的港片經典〈東邪西毒〉，看得我暈頭轉向，中途放棄。放心，〈一代宗師〉不會讓人頭痛，起碼沒有時空大兜亂，但會讓人有點發昏。王家衛把精采、複雜的打鬥放在開頭（沒錯，就是預吿片那段雨中對打），接著，他就開始播放自家風格的愛情廣告了。 慎防大家不知，概括說說：故事結構──打，打，再打，初遇，分離，奔喪，報仇，再遇，聊幾句，完事。中間夾雜時代更替，用字幕加歷史片段交代了事。當然，還有數不勝數的金句，所以戲裡人不僅是武人，還個個都是詩人。演員方面──小瀋陽是出來搞笑的；趙本山是來解釋「裡子」和「面子」的，沒出過招；宋慧喬是綠葉，戲裡還有大量我們想都沒想到的綠葉，震撼；張震是純粹做功夫示範的，只演一場；以上幾位只能算客串，不能算配角，真正的配角是宮寶森（王慶祥），馬三（張晉），和葉問（梁朝偉）。沒錯，葉問只是配角，主角其實是宮二（章子怡），所以電影叫〈一代宗師〉，而不是〈甚麼葉問〉或〈葉問甚麼〉，大家不要先入為主。武打方面──武指是袁和平，但武打場面完全不見八爺的影兒，他在戲裡倒是客串了一角。打鬥場面多運用局部近鏡，少量慢鏡和頭頂俯視，招式的來去其實看得不太清楚，喜歡看八爺動作場面的觀眾，會有種被騙的感覺。音樂方面──我欣賞，很有氣氛，特別是葉問和宮二初會那段，竟然配上西方歌劇，這種神來之筆，只有王家衛才膽敢做。 前面提過，〈一代宗師〉裡的功夫只是幌子，其骨幹依舊是愛情，是一齣不折不扣的愛情廣告，畫面唯美，百分之八十的鏡頭都是演員的臉部特寫。如斯廣告長達兩個多小時，未必人人受得了。我最喜歡的，不是片中的武打，而是最後一場宮二對葉問的表白，場面和音樂淒美非常，看得人唏噓無奈，因此這齣廣告我是可以接受的。 說到金句，有兩句比較有印象，其中一句很多人都提過：「每次相遇，都是久別重逢」。好像挺浪漫的一句話，細心咀嚼，還蠻恐怖的，因為它說的是輪迴啊！還有一句說武學的三個境界：「見自己，見天地，見眾生」。縱使宮二武功比葉問高，但頂多見到天地，見不到眾生，因為她有很多的放不下。至於葉問見到眾生與否？我看也未必，因為到最後他還覺得「功夫是一橫一豎」，還有分別，還沒放下。王家衛最後以一連串佛像作結，令人感慨──時代埋沒無數宗師（迷者），只有大師（覺者）方能傲視時代而不倒！ ...

★★★★☆ Sylvester Stallone’s ‘Judge Dredd’ is nothing worth remembering. ‘Dredd’ is however, a whole lot better cinematic experience. The story reminds me of ‘ TheRaid: Redemption ’, an Indonesian action film in which cops are trapped in a building controlled by a sicko. And they have to kill their mercy and fight their way out using unique physical combat skills. Western viewers love it, but I find it boring and impractical. The plot is quite the same, but ‘Dredd’ is visually more engaging! In ‘Dredd’, two Judges face a life-and-death situation. Karl Urban’s Judge Dredd never shows his face in the film. Cool! Although Judges don’t know martial arts, they’ve got a very special gun loaded with different destructive bullets. Guess what if a bad guy points this gun right back at the Judge? Cooler! And the coolest thing is the jaw-dropping visual effects. Hands down! Every time the slo-mo drug is triggered, pictures become mesmerizing. The mood is right set up, the pace well contro...

★★☆☆☆ In case you don’t know, Skyfall is a mansion in Scotland where little Bond grew up with his family, but don’t expect it to be like ‘Batman Begins’ or stuff so that we might get to know how little Bond becomes big Bond. This 23 rd (why people haven’t got fed up yet) Bond film is still about how Bond always seems to be able to hook up a girl and find a way out before finally getting his job, maybe not perfectly, but absolutely finished anyhow. He must be, like the film suggests, the last rat standing, no matter how invincible and fearsome the villain appears to be, this time played by Javier Bardem. What a waste of his talent and charisma in acting indeed. ‘Skyfall’ is nothing but a carefree action film, and you know what, carefree action films suck. I’m never a fan of 007 series. Not fond of films starring Daniel Craig either. The reason why I checked out ‘Skyfall’ is that it’s gained positive reviews from critics worldwide. Turned out there’s nothing exciting about it,...

★★★★☆ Killing them softly is in fact not quite accurate to describe the way Jackie (Brat Pitt) does his job. It’s more like, theatrically speaking, killing them slowly and elegantly. One of the killing scenes in the film does demonstrate how the beauty of violence is supposed to be like on the big screen though you know violence is nothing beautiful in reality. Here we have Brat Pitt as a cold-blooded hitman. The way he talks is cynical and intimidating but sometimes humorous. The way he executes is calm and stylish. If you’re fond of charismatic figures like that and Neo-noir films, this is the one you shouldn’t miss. The whole plot is, to be honest, nothing special, but the way it reveals is certainly entertaining and atmospheric. You get more and more engaged as the story goes on. Political speeches by Bush and Obama are throughout the film despite the fact that it’s nothing of a political drama. They play, however, like an interesting, sarcastic backdrop as Jackie finally...

★★★☆☆ 又因工作關係，看了〈財神到〉。一看戲名，心想：又是一齣胡鬧的爛片子。看了影片的頭 15 分鐘，感覺自己好像猜對了。但繼續看下去，卻發覺，它並非想像中那麼爛啊！〈財神到〉集合中、港、台眾明星，是典型賀歲片格局，可是它並沒有典型賀歲片那種 offensive 、「無哩頭」的搞笑（可能對象是大陸觀眾吧）。確切說，它是一齣溫馨的政治正確的劇情片。說到政治正確，多數人都會嗤之以鼻，但我覺得，如果是一些導人向善的政治正確， why not ？ 〈財神到〉由三個故事組成。每個故事都有啟示。第一個故事：做人應該只求付出而不求回報，所謂因果不爽，是你的終究還是你的，就算你不求。俗話說，是福不是禍，是禍躲不過。是福同樣也躲不過，不過各位要懂得以福積福，而不是貪圖享福，貪圖享福的果報就是墮落。如何以福積福呢？學財神，適當地派錢嘍。第二個故事其實是一個愛情故事，有點老土，但又道出了一個很多人都知道，但卻不太願意接受的事實：真的愛對方並不代表要擁有對方。第三個故事由財神總管（譚詠麟）親自說法：與其派錢，不如教人賺錢。不知何解，這讓我聯想起中學時期的一條校訓：勞而不獲者有之，未有不勞而獲者也。種瓜得瓜，任何東西，都是要自己去爭取的。 菩薩修行，佈施第一。佈施有三：財施、法施、無畏施。慷慨施財，能讓你得到更多的財富；教人正法、導人向善，能讓你得聰明才智；關愛安慰他人，令人遠離恐怖，能讓你得健康長壽。其實，你不用向外求財神給你財富，你自己就是自己的財神，只要你肯行佈施，錢財福報自然來找你。這是生命的秘密，但相信這個秘密的人不多，肯真幹的人更是少之又少啊！

★★☆☆☆ ‘ Taken ’ is a fast-paced, gripping story of well choreographed actions. ‘Taken 2’ is to me very unnecessary, but you know since Bryan (Liam Neeson) has to kill so many to get his daughter taken by notorious human traffickers in the first place, ‘Taken 2’ seems so inevitable. An eye for an eye, that’s their logic. This time, it’s not his daughter being taken. It’s himself and his wife. The way he teaches his daughter to locate him by using grenades is interestingly ingenious anyhow. How those bad asses seem to approach him, get him, and treat him is, however, nonsensical. No way they’d be that careless and lenient while coming up to such a tough and skilled master like Bryan. And the problem above all is, its actions, thanks to the swift cutting, are such a headache. The physical fights are no longer enjoyable but of nausea. If you think ‘Taken’ is terrific enough, then don’t ruin your memory by seeing this one. Truth is, revenge is never sweet. That’s why Bryan says in...

★★☆☆☆ 發行商拿它跟〈 千與千尋 〉做比較，我想說的是，這不是一部奇幻歷險片，而是一部講述人與人之間，從誤解走向了解的溫情片。假如你抱著看家庭親情片的心態入場，這部動畫片應該會讓你很窩心。一個其實很簡單的故事，片長卻是兩個小時，可見其節奏是何等緩慢，少一點精神和耐性，都可能在中途睡著或離場。影片再次告訴大家：你所見到的，永遠只能是真相的一部分；你無法看清事實的全部，你只看到你想看到的。佛陀說過：我說的法，如手中沙；我未說的法，如地上土。同樣道理：你看的，也如手中沙；你看不到的，卻如地上土。不要總覺得他人是錯的，因為你自己也不一定就是對的。 故事涉及鬼怪，但在戲中他們都是善類，因為他們，小女孩最後才認清了事實，那是一種緣分。現實生活中，經常聽到有人說見到鬼。從佛教的角度看，鬼和人一樣，都是六道的眾生之一。人怕鬼，鬼也怕人，人不想見到鬼，鬼也不想見到人。但有時，我們會和他們 crossover ，那都是緣分和心念在作怪。心念偏邪，就見到三惡道（包括鬼）的東西；心念偏淨，就見到佛菩薩之類的聖者。所謂 Be careful what you wish for ，小心你的心念！

★★★★☆ ‘End Of Watch’ tells an exhilarating police story in which we ride with two LAPD officers Brian and Mike played by Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena to fight crime around dangerous neighborhoods. They’re like partners, brothers and family. They tease each other, socialize with each other, and watch each other’s back. In a film like this, you’d somehow have a feeling that one of them is going to die in the end for sure. It’s just that you don’t know which one. Yes, your guess is right, but still the ending is kind of a surprise. This film is so much like a reality show filled with nauseous elements of chases, shoot-outs, arrests, and of course offensive language delivered by ruthless scumbags as well as the police. Dirty words are so inevitable right from the beginning to the end. Forget it if you can’t stand it. Since it’s so close to reality, or say, a documentary and viewed from various angles by different types of cameras, you feel like you’re not just watching it hap...