Almost Buddhist - 戲‧論

★☆☆☆☆ I didn’t want to write about this film actually, but just in case you can’t help being interested, here’s to warn you that this is not a film you should waste your time on. There’s nothing but a dreamy plot, sick characters, mindless violence and brutality, terrible music, action sequences and dialogues. The words they say often are ‘kill’ and ‘dead’. No idea what the hell it is for! In the film, Thailand becomes a horrible place of corrupt cops, ruthless gangsters and drug dealers, and women that can be nothing but prostitutes. All it has to show you is bleak stuff that you know is by no means true! This film will certainly scare off those interested in traveling to Thailand. Why’d someone want to make a film like this? Why’d Ryan Gosling, an actor that I quite appreciate, want to be part of this bullshit? Why’d the Thai Government even allow it to happen in the first place? God knows! And exactly like the title suggests, only God forgives ‘Only God Forgives’!

★★★☆☆ In case you may wonder, this is a story about, simply put, aliens manipulating humans to try to eliminate humans while sucking up the water on our planet to be their energy and power to be able to go on and on. Manipulating how? That’s left for you guys to find out. The story itself is not at all engrossing and fresh. You may not be able to guess what Jack (Tom Cruise) encounters after he enters the restricted area, but you somehow get a feeling like the whole thing is nothing but a hoax. Say, if you prefer philosophical or deep stuff, you should instead check out sci-fi classics like ‘Dark City’ or ‘The Matrix’. The visual effects however, are detailed and realistic. To me, this is only a two-star film, but Morgan Freeman’s performance is certainly worth one more star. I mean his narrative seems so persuasive and charming always like how he does in ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ and many others. ‘Oblivion’ has a slight touch on the subject of soul and body, but unfortunatel...

★★☆☆☆ This latest piece of work of the British Oscar winning director Danny Boyle (Best Director, Slumdog Millionaire) looks intriguing and elusive at first, but as it develops, it becomes so predictable and scientifically unconvincing. Said you’d be able to ask anyone to do almost anything by simply hypnotizing him. Well… I don’t buy it. I guess it’d be so much better to make it a sci-fi flick like Christopher Nolan’s ‘Inception’ than a reality-based crime thriller as it may seem but certainly not. The use of hypnosis and dysfunction of one’s memories in ‘Trance’ is all just a cover, under which is nothing more than a story of revenge. To be honest, that’s quite boring. And there’s violence and obscene that I don’t find necessary either. I nonetheless, gotta give it to Danny in the light of his ingenious editing skills and choice of music. ‘Trance’ is technically impressive but dramatically weak. So maybe it’s just me, as I prefer a good, witty story to anything else in films...

★★★☆☆ 〈真夏方程式〉不是不好看，只是跟之前的〈嫌疑犯 X 的獻身〉相比，給予我的震撼沒那麼強烈而已。上週二看了這部電影，再次體會到：期望越大，失望越大。拖到現在才寫，是因為沒什麼好說或想說的，簡單說來，一切都是因為愛！ 這次的案件沒有〈嫌〉裡頭的那麼「複雜」和「完美」，但案件涉及人物多，跨越年代久，也就只有湯川教授那般的天才頭腦，才能看清謊言背後的真相了。整個故事沒什麼驚喜意外之處，只要留心看，在湯川教授揭開謎底之前，大概已能猜出一些端倪。但是戲裡的那位小男孩，多少還是讓我們有點傻眼！有人說福山雅治如同香港演員林峰，只是 chok ，沒演技，但事實是，電影版的〈神探迦利略〉跟電視版的相比，感覺是相差甚遠的。電影版裡的福山雅治收斂了很多，起碼沒有那個招牌手勢，也沒有突然拿起什麼，耍酷地寫一些讓人摸不著頭腦的方程式。你可以不看電視劇〈神探迦利略〉，但是電影版你絕對不能錯過，包括這部〈真夏方程式〉。 〈真〉是一部非常沉重的電影，雖然它偶爾會讓你笑一下，但它給予你更多的，我想，是眼淚與唏噓。你甚至會非常同情戲中的犯罪者，認為他做的是正確的，是應該的，就算是一向非常理性的湯川教授，最後也選擇「感情用事」，讓秘密永遠成為秘密。我不知道這樣做是好是壞，但我相信，一個背負著秘密與愧疚而走下去的人，他所踏出的每一步，一定是比別人沉重萬分的！

★★★☆☆ All you see in ‘Europa Report’ are images of a past event in mockumentary style. All shots are taken from so-called news clips and interviews, and cameras equipped inside and outside the spacecraft and spacesuits. The camera angles are narrow. The pictures are rough and shaky. Viewers like me may find it unpleasant. And I guess a mockumentary is still a mockumentary. The more you try to make it look real, the less it looks real! As a fan of sci-fi films, the story’s interesting enough to me. A crew of astronauts setting out for Europa, one of the Jupiter’s moons, that is believed to harbor life under its ice-covered surface. The journey seems pretty gripping as it’s presented nonlinearly. But the ending turns me off. It reminds me of Danny Boyle’s ‘Sunshine’, a seemingly great sci-fi film unfortunately ruined by its mindless ending. What ‘Europa Report’ finally reveals is not that mindless after all, but it certainly leaves a bad aftertaste: why are we still thinking ins...

★★☆☆☆ Going to cinema for a film was my top entertainment while TVs and TV shows were still kind of rare. Those I remember for sure I checked out together with my mom are Christopher Reeve’s ‘Superman’ series. To an adult like my mom, Superman was nothing impressive, but to a little naïve boy like me, it certainly was. I like Superman movies that represent hopes and dreams of flying higher and being stronger and larger than life. After years of hibernation, Superman finally came around again with Zack Snyder as the director, and Christopher Nolan the producer. I expected there’d be slo-mo spectacular moves like those in ‘300’, but there’s quite the opposite, and it feels nothing like ‘The Dark Knight’ either. This new version of Superman is more or less a disappointment! Yes, ‘Man Of Steel’ is packed with actions and I’m fine with that, but I would’ve enjoyed it if they had just slowed down a bit, and not given me nauseous, boring action sequences like a hybrid of ‘Transformer...

Zealous, fun, powerful pop punk sound. ‘Move Along’ MV struck me so back then. This sophomore of theirs sure would make you feel like The All-American Rejects could be something so great, but pitifully they’re not quite. Their following efforts ‘When The World Comes Down’, and ‘Kids In The Street’, are just there to tell they’ve somehow lost their touch. Soon they’re gonna have to fade I guess, but ‘Move Along’ will stay. This is an album you have to take a few listens to get addicted to. The lyrics may seem a bit bizarre but the music is so mesmerizing. ‘Hot Fuss’ that makes The Killers the best British band from America, is a no-idea after all, but ‘Sam’s Town’ is certainly more on reality than fantasy. Whether or not you’re a fan of The Killers, only if you’re a rockaholic, I suggest you take a ride to ‘Sam’s Town’. Chuck is a guy who saved Sum 41 from a war zone. So this album is in fact a dedication to Chuck himself, and those peacekeepers risking their lives to kee...

Hybrid Theory, a monster album in terms of smash hits, avant-garde Nu metal style, Chester’s stunning vocals with Mike’s impressive hip-hop beat blending perfectly together. Like a wakeup call for mundane lives out there, it opened up a door for me to other genres of rock music. Linkin Park’s debut, their best to date. Inconceivably stylish and cool. Country rock legends The Eagles playing unplugged for their 1994 reunion concerts. I used to be able to sing, not only those in this album, but all of their songs by heart. One of the greatest bands on earth hands down! Here they present a sentimental, spectacular live album I’ve ever listened. Some find it boring. I find it the most captivating album of Coldplay’s. ‘Parachutes’ is good but not great. ‘X&Y’, ‘Viva La Vida’, ‘Mylo Xyloto’ are pop stuff honestly. Only ‘A Rush Of Blood To The Head’ is the best act they’ve ever done. Christian rock, alternative rock, post grunge, hard rock, name it, they just don’t car...

★★☆☆☆ It’s been quite a while since I last sat myself down for a film. Being less interested and patient in such stuff, I’m no longer a moviegoer, not an addicted one for sure. So I may shut this blog down one day, but not anytime soon. For the time being, I’ll keep dropping nonsense some may consider, but I guess there’s always something important here for you to keep in mind! Korean Park Chan-wook’s English debut, ‘Stoker’, is indeed a stylish piece, in light of cinematograph, sex appealing, disturbing sound effects and music, and the way the story is edited and told. Park’s ‘ Oldboy ’ truly gives a heart attack, while ‘Stoker’ looks less suspicious, melodramatic and brutal, and delivers no thrills even as the final truth’s revealed. This film’s rather superficial. It’s for Park to show off his directorial skills only. The ending is clueless, and of no surprise. It just leaves audiences questions like, what the hell is going on in their minds? Jealousy? Libido? Depressio...

★★☆☆☆ 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。

★★★☆☆ ‘Side Effects’ opens at a crime scene with much blood on the floor of an apartment. Intriguing? Yes. It’s also got a whole lot of surprises for you near the end, so try to stick around till the truth is finally revealed. The prerequisite is, however, you mustn’t be so clever of an audience. Just go flow with the plot. Don’t be predicting anything. Then you’ll be shocked, but not really convinced after all that Jude Law’s Dr. Banks could be that determined, calm and brilliant, or like it’s said in the film, be of such a genius to be able to solve an almost perfect puzzle set up by other geniuses. He’s indeed more like an intimidating detective than an ordinary psychiatrist, especially when he starts to intentionally stir up mistrust between the criminal minds. I doubt if there’s a genius like that in life. Like it or not, everything has a side effect on you if you go too far for it. Say, money can keep us alive in such a materialistic world we live in, but it, too, can g...

★★★★☆ 又因（偶然的）工作關係，看了這部電影。通常因工而看的電影，十之八九都是不值一提的，這部是例外！ 台灣電影〈白天的星星〉，在台灣北部的泰雅部落山區取景，畫面極富美感，但毫不賣弄。演員演技自然，特別是飾演阿免姨的林美秀，她對著心目中外國的神（也就是耶穌）懺悔那段，更是催人淚下。至於她那個隱藏了 30 多年的秘密到底是什麼，就留給大家自己去看了。導演透過淡淡的故事，道出暖暖的人情。剛開始看的時候，覺得有點悶，耐心看完之後，心靈彷彿被洗滌了一番。現代人往往就是沒有興趣和耐心去欣賞這種東西。在人們越來越喜歡「重口味」的今天，這類「清泉」更顯久違珍貴！ 白天的星星？沒錯，無論白天黑夜，天上的星星都沒有離開過，只是白天它們被陽光所蓋，我們看不到罷了。我想這是所有人都明白的，除了小孩子吧，因為他們未必懂得「看不到不等於不存在」的道理。但其實，在對佛性的認受上面，或者說在自淨其意的修行層面，我們又何嘗不是小孩子一個？你是否傾向覺得「貪嗔痴」是「實」，而「佛性」是「虛」呢？你何時真的「看到」自己的佛性？又幾時真的覺得自己本來就是「佛」呢？ 懺悔的力量是強大的，它可以改變一個人本身，接而影響他人。真誠的懺悔甚至可以讓你頓時一窺自己的佛性。《華嚴經普賢行願品》當中就有懺悔一門，是菩薩修行的重要功課。印光大師也勸勉我們要「常生慚愧心及懺悔心」。唯有經常反省懺悔，我們才能逐漸淨化心靈，改變自己、改變他人、改變環境，才有指望證入本性，如果只是一味推卸責任，責怪他人，那你將永遠生活在痛苦之中。阿免姨之所以叫阿免姨，是因為她覺今是而昨非，把心裡的愛擴大，不求回報地去佈施助人，人家所欠她的，她都說「免了免了」，因此她居住的環境是美麗的，圍繞在她身邊的人也都是善良的。 難忘那片幽靜的山區；難忘那種簡單的生活；難忘那份溫暖的人情；也難忘以下這首感人的歌曲：

5月11日，星期六，和媽媽一同去屯門妙法寺參拜。大家可以乘搭鐵路或巴士前往，在藍地鐵路站下車便可。 一下車，就看到遠處的妙法寺了 就是前面那座蓮花狀的玻璃建築物 無上甚深微妙法，百千萬劫難遭遇 佛法確實很深，也可以很淺 就看你肯不肯真的去幹了 什麼是佛教？這四句話說明了一切 最重要的，是第三句 要自淨其意，才能超越三界，永得安樂 新落成的佛殿，好像一朵大蓮花 感覺很現代 和其他佛寺一樣，妙法寺也有老人院 位於新佛殿入口兩旁的鐘和鼓 所謂暮鼓晨鐘，其實是提醒修行人要時刻精進 大家可以看看暮鐘偈，理解當中的含意 入口周圍兩旁有很多這類羅漢松 老媽又不小心出場了，右上角那位是也 少見的金蓮花 新佛殿入口處的彌勒菩薩和護法神韋陀 新舊佛殿模型 其實我覺得規劃設計有點亂 感覺怪怪的 四大護法天王 他們手中所持的器具都是有代表意思的 目的都是希望大家能證入不二法門，放下自在 觀世音菩薩普門品經文 後面是一個舉行法會的場所，地方很大 位於新建築最上層的蓮華大殿 殿內供奉的釋迦牟尼佛 很大很壯觀，我和媽媽初看到都嘩的一聲 坐落在新佛殿一旁的舊萬佛寶殿 門口處依舊供奉彌勒跟韋陀 萬佛殿內的佛尊 萬佛殿對面的魚池 石碑上刻的是心經 一部很深、很深的佛教經典 佛說法分聖義、世俗二種 心經講的是一種聖義的境界 不是我們此等世俗凡夫能理解的 妙法寺看似很大，其實不到半小時就可參觀完畢。可能當天正值佛七法會，很多地方都沒有開放吧。近來重看佛學家沈家楨居士的演講集，讀到有關攀緣心和覺知性一段的時候，頓時有種「叮一聲」的感覺，但維持的時間非常短暫。我想，修行的目的，無非就是把這種「叮一聲」的感覺儘量延長，但恰如沈先生所說，那是非常非常困難的事。要想消除攀緣心，坦白說，在這個五濁惡世是絕對辦不到的事。我們所能做的，就只是儘量透過（無相）佈施和（信願念佛）修定，好讓自己逐步放下種種貪戀跟執著，倒靠阿彌陀佛，求生淨土。無論你相信與否，這是我們唯一的指望！