Almost Buddhist - 戲‧論

Who: Escape Plan Where: China What: Alternative/Pop Rock When: 2013 This is one of very few Chinese rock bands that I appreciate and enjoy, while there’s a lot I neither appreciate nor enjoy at all. ‘Earth’ is a debut by Escape Plan, a stylish looking band of four young men very into British rock I guess coz they look British and the music they’ve been playing is also kind of British. It makes me think of Coldplay but somehow different. They’re considered Indie Pop or New Wave or stuff. Whatever, it sounds hopeful, exhilarating and sentimental at the same time. And their live shows are absolutely world class, but we’re not seeing them making any commercial attempt yet. Just can’t wait to get a bite of their probably even greater sophomore. Try it and rock on!

★★★☆☆ To be honest, I’ve never before sat down for any film featuring Robert Redford, a rather great actor to most movie lovers, until ‘All Is Lost’, a pretty close to reality version of ‘Old Man And The Sea’ that stars him and him only! This is a film of basically no dialogues, no music, no breathtaking pictures, no fierce or lovely animals, no tricky camera work, no complicated story to tell, nothing particular at all, just a man fighting to survive. So what’s great about this film as most people and critics said it is so? Well, it’s not great to me anyway but it does leave me an ambivalent aftertaste. I guess it’s not a film you’d find impressive when or right after you watch it, but you’d start feeling it when you recall it a bit later. The film opens with a man voicing over his last words seemingly, saying ‘I’m sorry. I know that means little at this point, but I am. I tried. I think you would all agree that I tried. To be true, to be strong, to be kind, to love, to be ri...

★★★★☆ Captain Phillips must feel rather fortunate being an American citizen because in the film we see that he’s got a lot of backup from the Navy to be able to stay alive till the end. Those pirates are however, not that lucky at all. Men are all born equal, that is total bullshit you know. We’re born into different parts of the world living different lives. There’s no way for us to achieve equality or stuff. So when Richard Phillips tries to convince Muse, the pirate leader played by Barkhad Abdi, to give up by saying ‘there's got to be something other than being a fisherman or kidnapping people’, he replies without hesitation, ‘maybe in America, Irish, maybe in America’. Like it or not, some are just lucky enough to have a choice of their own as to which walk of life is much worthier and more respectable, but some are not so! Honestly I feel very sorry for those pirates having no choice but to listen to their bosses and risk their lives to earn a living every day. But d...

I used to be so into pop songs at first, and then ditch it completely and move on to pop rock particularly, but now I’m only a fan of indie rock. Not like before, I no longer go to record stores for CDs or something coz there’re lots of sources on the Internet that I can get to try from time to time so conveniently. Some help me relax. Some encourage. Some makes me sentimental again. I thought I could keep music at bay, but we all need it sometimes, whether to feel better or worse, don’t we? So starting this year, I’ll share some of my favorites with any of you guys out there who feel like I feel right here at ‘Almost Buddhist’. Who: Switchfoot Where: America What: Alternative Rock When: 2014 Not particularly great as I thought it should be, but it’s still a pretty decent album certainly worth a listen, especially when your mind’s kinda empty and feeling’s kinda numb. I’ve been following them for years. Musically, they always dare to try something new for their albums. Lyr...

★★☆☆☆ 當年黃精甫憑著〈江湖〉獲得香港電影金像獎最佳新晉導演獎，可謂技驚四座。但看罷，覺得故事一般，對白乏味，節奏拖拉，鏡頭賣弄，有些畫面根本不需要那麼拍吧，炫燿過頭，顧此失彼，之後他的第二部長片〈阿嫂〉果然撲直。如果不是為了看久違的學友（個人很喜歡看他做戲，但偏偏他很少拍戲），〈江湖〉應該不是我那杯茶。唯一可圈點的，就是其敘事方式，最後的結局又真的讓人有點意外。銷聲匿跡幾年，最近黃導又出來〈惡戰〉，雖然想看八爺指導的武打，最後還是打消了念頭！ 江湖是什麼？在哪裡？應該沒有人可以說得清，但提起「江湖」，大家都會馬上聯想到「道義」。現在社會道德淪喪，有義氣之人，多數被當作傻子。人人都擺出一副「人不為己，天誅地滅」的姿態，孰不知真正「天誅地滅」的原因，就是人自私自利的心。想起以前大姨丈經常掛在嘴邊的「四句偈」：黃蓮苦，貧窮更苦；登天難，求人更難；春冰薄，人情更薄；江湖險，人心更險。所謂依報隨著正報轉，留意現在身邊發生的人與事，你大概可以知道這個世界將往哪裡而去！

★★☆☆☆ Honestly, I feel nothing particular about this latest work by Director Ron Howard who used to impress me just once with ‘A Beautiful Mind’, though it seems rather welcomed by film critics and most of the viewers. The actions are by no means thrilling. The story’s a bit rushed off. The dialogues are awkwardly dull. The whole film is almost like a turnoff to me. Maybe it’s because I’m no fan of racing sports, and don’t know how to appreciate it. So please excuse me! I said ‘almost’ because ‘Rush’ is not completely a mess after all. At least I stayed seated for two hours straight to want to find out how things would end up between James Hunt and Niki Lauda, two real great desperados in F1 racing history. Two different characters, two different ways of living and approaching to success, and I guess there’s nothing wrong or right with the choices they make, but you know every choice has its price to pay! F1 is undoubtedly the most dangerous sport on this planet that gets ...

I no longer see myself as a film junkie coz, as you may’ve realized, I’ve written stuff about movies much, much less than before. Not that I’m lazy or busy. Just that I’ve become choosy, and don’t wanna waste my time checking out trash anymore, unless it’s my day job to do so! I guess now I’m only a PTM, Part Time Moviegoer, and still pathetically an AB, Almost Buddhist! But I’ll be closing this blog when I become a complete. I didn’t watch so many films as some of the movie maniacs did out there last year. In fact, I watched so few that I can barely list out the so called top ten must-see in 2013, but here’s what I consider the best and worst: The Best: Title: Gravity Year: 2013 Country: America Director: Alfonso Cuaron Starring: Sandra Bullock, George Clooney Pros: The story, the underscore, the acting, the special effects… ‘ Gravity ’ truly is a spectacular I’ve ever seen in recent years, that’s to remind us to ought to appreciate life every now and then. And that ne...

★★★★★ 未看之前，知道這是一部沉重的電影，看了之後，才明白「知道」跟「切身體會到」是兩碼事。韓國電影「無聲吶喊」在香港上映時被評為三級，我想不是因為裡面有什麼噁心的畫面，而是電影由始至終那份沉重悲哀的氣氛，最後的裁決更是沉重加沉重，不是人人能夠消化及承受得住，我也是忍著怒氣、含著淚把電影看完的。有看過此片的觀眾，也不必對人性或公義完全失去信心，要堅信哪裡有惡魔，哪裡就有救苦救難的佛菩薩；至於沒有看過的觀眾……我想，還是免了吧！ 「無聲吶喊」的英文名稱是 Silenced ，就是被封口，不讓說話的意思。有什麼東西可以讓一個人在面對不公情況的時候沉默？說到底，還是出於個人利益以及金錢上的考慮。在公義及利益之間，我們通常都選擇後者，因為利益總比公義來得實際直接。在這個弱肉強食的世界，所謂的公義通常都被有權勢的富人所操控。窮人要伸張正義，所要付出的代價實在太大，甚至可能賠上性命。因此也不難理解為何戲裡的那位婆婆要被迫接受庭外和解，面對自己的孫子被人性侵犯的事實，除了表現「無聲」，就是百般無奈。可能你會說：如果我是那位婆婆，我一定不會妥協。我想：正因為你不是那位婆婆，你才會這麼說。這個世界，不惜犧牲性命為求公義的菩薩畢竟太少太少，試問一般凡夫如何抵抗心魔的誘惑，及外境的逼迫？ 戲裡提到海倫凱勒（ Helen Keller ）說過的一句話：「世上最美麗、最寶貴的東西，並不是耳朵聽到、眼睛看到的東西，而是用心去感受的東西」。其實，真正維持人類生存至今的不是什麼物質上的東西，而是愛與慈悲。愛與慈悲不是人類的奢侈品，而是必須品，沒有愛與慈悲，就算物質多麼豐富，我們也只會走上自絕的道路！但偏偏我們是反過來想的。我們以為要先填飽肚子，才能去說什麼愛與慈悲，而忘了我們為何要填飽肚子。 在這個末法時期、五濁惡世，人們只懂得不斷向外攀緣，追求物質、滿足感官，而忽略了從心而發的愛與慈悲的重要。「無聲吶喊」沉重嗎？悲觀嗎？它至少讓你知道：儘管黑暗籠罩，卻總有一絲光明，只要你保持美好的信念；也增強了我的道心：希望早日蒙佛接引，往生西方，成就歸來，普渡眾生。戲的最後有一句話，讓我非常感動，我想以此勉勵各位在菩提道上堅持不放棄的佛子：「我們奮鬥，不是為了改變世界，而是為了不讓世界改變我們」！

★★★☆☆ If not for Paul Walker who recently got killed in a speeding car his friend was driving, I wouldn’t have checked out this film. But don’t get it wrong, I’m not a fan of his, or the Fast, or the Furious. I just felt like I wanted to see this guy one last time in a film considered one of the best 10 of the year by TIME magazine! Well, ‘Fast 6’ is no better than ‘ Fast 5 ’, but no worse either. It’s a safe play by Director Justin Lin since the ingredients are pretty much the same: a fast beat, nice sceneries, attractive bodies, fancy cars, surrealistic chases and stunts, little brains and much brawn. The film starts off quite well promising to take us to a whole new level but as it develops and more actions take place, the story begins to lose its grip, and the characters begin to fade, and we begin to realize that the so called whole new level is, as a matter of fact, nothing new! The weak spot of the Fast series is the absence of an impressive story that’s supposed to...

★☆☆☆☆ Checking out a film that turns out to be like total rubbish definitely feels bad, but deciding to still check it out even though most people say it sucks feels a lot worse, because you know you’ve deliberately done something you shouldn’t have, and you just can’t help it at all. You can only blame it on your karma I guess. And that’s how ‘Kick-Ass 2’ makes me feel. My bad! 2010’s ‘ Kick-Ass ’ is a quality cult film with exhilarating actions and sentimental moments, but in ‘Kick-Ass 2’, things turn super preposterous. The story doesn’t seem to reason and intrigue at all. It’s stuffed with lousy purposeless violence and awkward reactions; dumb characters with zero acting (Jim Carrey’s nothing equivalent of Nicolas Cage in ‘Kick-Ass’. He’s just a big, big cameo there. What a waste indeed); and last but not least, mindless offensive language on and on. Neither is it an action film nor a drama nor a comedy. I don’t know what the hell it is for exactly. Take my advice: even if...

近來，感覺自己好像站在十字路口……有點迷惘，到底自己是否需要一些改變？ 大家不要高估自己的能力，要接受一個事實──改變是困難的。佛教唯識學有所謂的等流性：過去世業種子起現行，促使果報體造業，而我們的所造的業又不斷薰成業種子，業種子又再起現行，我們又不得不再做一些跟過去差不多的業，如此循環，我們的薰習不斷加強，所以改變談何容易，除非你能夠「接受你不能接受的，放下你不能放下的」，但撫心自問，你做得到嗎？自出世到現在，有哪一天的生活，你不是跟著自己的感覺走的？ 自覺命苦的阿媽說：今世所得（貧或苦或貴或賤），都是注定的。言下之意就是命運難以改變。我跟她說：佛家不贊同命定說，但改命是非常困難的事情，除非──我又重複了上面那句話──能夠「接受你不能接受的，放下你不能放下的」！我們有太多東西不能接受，有太多東西不能放下，所以我們不斷被業力牽著鼻子走，所以念佛人多，能夠往生淨土的人少。我們很難改變根深蒂固的好惡，所以態度依舊，行為依舊，修行只是嘴巴說說，命運自然不能改變！ 改變（或者所謂的改命）需要非常、非常大的勇氣，也要有心理準備付出巨大的代價！例如一個你依靠了幾十年的人，你能否脫離？；一份你做了十幾年的工作，你能否放棄？；一個你習慣了很久的習慣，你能否毅然打斷？；你能否跳出自己熟悉的「安全區域」，去擁抱自己完全不熟悉的事物？；能否放下你那些緊緊抱住的「我所」？當然，改變的目的是為了加快解脫的步伐，早日超越輪迴。如果你勇氣可嘉，作出改變，但只不過是為了讓自己感覺更良好，這樣的改變只是讓你墮入另一個「安全區域」，增加另一種執著而已，是毫無意義的！所以說真正的修行是在你離開你的「安全區域」之後才開始的。修行就是跟自我對著幹，如果在修行的路上，你經常自我感覺良好，其實你是走錯了路！ 又來到一年的最後一個月，跟著自己的感覺走了幾十年，是時候改變了……如果有一天我在臉書上消失了，博文也不更新了，電郵電話也找不到我了……勿念，改變常改變嘛，只希望我曾經寫過或者分享過的那些文章，能夠讓大家認識到生命的無奈，輪迴的可怕，從而生起出離心，以及救苦救難的菩提心，南無阿彌陀佛！！

★★★☆☆ Those opposed to capitalism or materialism may consider ‘Fight Club’ a masterpiece but I’m not really into it to be honest. Don’t get me wrong here. I’m not money-minded though I’m pretty short of money indeed. Neither am I busy taking care of my stuff while going out getting more stuff. It’s just that it doesn’t strike me much like I thought it would as a movie, even after having seen it twice. It’s not necessarily a bad film however. It does say something that’s rather thought-provoking or disturbing to some. I find it interesting but a bit misleading as well. Arrogant folks could be encouraged to believe that pain’s truly what we need to feel resurrected; that in order to start anew, we have to destroy; that losing is another way of winning, and letting go will earn us more, etc. Truth is, this is a film full of witty lines that may sound stupid to the wise, and wise to the stupid! Here are some of them, and just be careful what you think! It's only after we'v...

★★★★☆ Two little girls are abducted. A suspect is arrested but released soon after on account of no solid evidence against him. Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman), one of the girls’ fathers, decides to abduct the suspect and torture him to tell the girls’ whereabouts. Abduction movies usually open with a warm happy scene of family members getting together or stuff, turning into a pessimistic situation right after someone in the family is gone missing. ‘Prisoners’ nevertheless, begins with a prayer to God before pulling the trigger that causes a deer’s life, followed by a father’s talk to his son about how to get prepared for the worst in life. And the tone of it keeps dark and bleak till the end even though the ending is sort of a comfort after all. An impressive crime thriller is able to keep the truth till the very last moment. ‘Prisoners’ is an excellent demonstration of such kind. The script stays intriguing throughout, and it’s unlikely to be sure who exactly the abductor is til...

★★★☆☆ ‘Nothing But The Truth’ kicks off right the way: the U.S. President comes across an assassination attempt. The U.S. Government wages a war against Venezuela after convincing its people that it must be involved, but it’s not, and a CIA agent named Erica knows it. Of course she’s not telling because that’ll be a threat to national security if she does. Rachel, a journalist for the Capital Sun-Times, is told by a source the whole truth however. Now everybody knows the U.S. Government was lying. Rachel is ordered by the Judge to reveal the identity of her source, but she decides to defend the principle of confidentiality and refuses. She’s then put behind bars and paying the price. This is a film about national security against the principle of confidentiality. If you’re politics-minded, you’ll love it. If you’re not so into politics, and simply prefer serious dramas, it won’t let you down either. The script is solid and smart, but the casting seems weak. I don’t know. It fe...

★★★★★ When I was on my way to work this morning, I don’t know, this film just popped up in my mind all of a sudden. It’s a film back in 1997, but after all these years, it still moves and astounds me just thinking of it. I’m talking about a sci-fi classic that will get people to ruminate about one’s faith in science or divinity, and the position of Earth in the Universe. I remember I first watched ‘Contact’ on a local TV channel. Its running time’s 150 minutes, a relatively long film, but it’s not at all boring. There’s a lot of talking indeed before the final contact happens. The things they say are by no means rubbish. They’re pretty thought-provoking and help set up the mood for the spellbinding ending—the way they manage to finally get Jodie Foster’s Ellis to have contact with another being from another world so much afar, is absolutely mind-blowing to me as a boy back then and even now as a grownup. I never figured it’d end up like that. That what really happens inside ca...

★★☆☆☆ 殭屍非人，亦非鬼，而是人扭曲的心識所幻想出來的東西，也就是執著的產物。人之所以放不下、皆因活在過去，忘記了無常，以為一切都是實實在在，孰不知當你覺得自己擁有某種東西的時候，同時也在失去它。片中出現的種種變態現象或行為，歸根究底都是因為執著！ 〈殭屍〉屬於 cult 片類， cult 片的特點就是畫面嚇死你，故事懶得理。先說畫面，坊間覺得該片畫面凌厲，恐怖壓迫感十足，但不知為何，我絲毫沒有被嚇死的感覺，整個過程我都很心平氣和地面對戲裡的種種血腥與怪誕。我承認部分畫面的設計頗有風格兼藝術感，但論灰暗恐怖氣氛，對我而言，則完全沒有作用，或許因為我的心比較「光明」吧。故事嘗試攪和西方鬼魂跟中國殭屍，但感覺好像兩頭不到岸。而不知是否礙於片長，影片對各人物的背景交代也顯得零碎，令人難以投入。唯一可觀之處就是各老戲骨的演技，尤其是鮑姐（鮑起靜），那幕七情上面的長鏡頭演繹，堪稱神級！至於選擇錢小豪做主角，我覺得致敬的意味多於其在影片中的實際作用及效果。 覺得結局摸不著頭腦的觀眾，大可把本片看作是錢小豪臨死前，其一生生活經歷的一次扭曲回放（事實是我們臨終的記憶回放不會如此扭曲），大家所看到的不過是一齣電影中的電影。現實是有很多只是存在、不是活著的「行尸走肉」，所以這個世界有沒有殭屍，就看你如何定義了。 電影真是見仁見智的東西，畢竟大家業力不同，對同一事物的感受看法也不同。人家說好看的東西，不一定就好看；人家說不好看的東西，也不一定就不好看，你自己想不想看、怎麼看，才是重點。

★★☆☆☆ ‘After Earth’ is like a fable, in which things don’t have to be logical or sensible after all, but must be convenient enough to convey the message. I don’t reject the idea. I just don’t consider it a nice flick that is supposed to be as much entertaining and convincing as it could be. Right, fables do teach but a story like that could be rather corny to some. ‘Danger is very real, but fear is a choice’. That’s the message. And it somehow reflects the heart of the Buddha’s teachings. You can’t change what’s come to your life but you do have a choice to decide how to take it. Your attitude to the problem is far more crucial than the problem itself. To realize so, you need certain wisdom, but unfortunately, that’s something most people lack nowadays. That’s why they keep repeating their mistakes over and again. They tend to kill to teach that killing is wrong. Ridiculous huh?

★★☆☆☆ This film opens with a long take introducing a tattooed handsome guy named Luke played by Ryan Gosling, you know, what he does for a living, how people feel about him, and how he feels about his job. If you’re a fan of Ryan, don’t get too carried away yet, because he only takes up one third of the film. The rest is all about Bradley Cooper’s Avery Cross and the sons of his and Luke’s. And don’t be mistaken that this is some kind of an action film. It’s a crime drama, a monotonous one though. There’s basically nothing thrilling and dramatic. So you gotta know what to expect before you get to see it, but I guess you'll get a bit disappointed no matter what! ‘The Place Beyond The Pines’ does however, tell something you think you get it but actually don’t: you do have a choice no matter how devastating the situation you get stuck in is. It’s all up to you to repeat or stop repeating mistakes of your own or others’; and last but not least, forgiveness does solve the probl...

★★★★★ This film must be seen on as big of a screen as possible, best in IMAX 3D that will allow you to visually get in there to better experience the grandiosity of mother Earth from outer space, and also the extreme terror and incessant danger of drifting high up there. ‘Gravity’ is directed by Mexican Alfonso Cuaron who’s so fond of making long takes, but in the film, he’s not doing it to show off but to better present a story of survival by letting us see and feel how Ryan (Sandra Bullock) and Matt (George Clooney) see and feel about their life and death situation after their space mission is abruptly interrupted by space debris. Sandra Bullock is terrific playing a vulnerable, panicked astronaut rookie, while George Clooney is only there to teach her (and us) when it’s time to let go and when it’s not. He may seem trivial but he’s the key to plot twists, especially Ryan’s final move to want to make it back home, that looks so insane yet it’s scientifically correct and poss...

★★★★★ 林超賢的〈証人〉是驚喜之作，之後的〈線人〉開始讓我滴汗，到了〈 逆戰 〉我徹底死了心，私自判了林大導「死刑」，決定以後不會再看他的電影。所以就算他的新作〈激戰〉贏盡口碑，我也沒甚興趣，直至在 佛門網 拜讀 林碧君先生的影評 ，才慢慢心軟，想看看到底林大導有否「洗心革面」。事實再次證明：做人不應該太心硬或太果斷；做事不能太絕，所謂知錯能改，善莫大焉，無論以前有何過錯，能懺悔改過就值得原諒，銀幕上的角色如是，現實中待人待己也應該如是；凡事無絕對，所謂守得雲開見月明，柳暗花明又一村，做人應該儘量保持樂觀，記住「無常」其實是好消息！ 至於〈激戰〉如何精采，如何正面，林先生的影評已經說得非常到肉，而網上也有眾多其他深入的影評，在此我就不多費口舌了，大家自己慢慢去咀嚼，不過， a picture is worth a thousand words ，大家最好還是入場感受光影的感動吧。我只想說一句，〈激戰〉一點都不「激」，反而很「柔」，但卻叫人看得激動，也願意相信林超賢在經過一輪「走火入魔」之後，開始「修成正果」了。如果你看過史先生的〈洛奇〉，再做對比，你就明白我的意思。影片之所以有這種感覺，音樂可能是很大的因素，那首喜歡英文歌的人都懂得唱，卻不太明白其歌詞含意的 Sound Of Silence ，簡直聽得我毛管直豎，腦海浮現很多過往種種，甚是感慨。由 Ania Dabrowska 翻唱的 Simon & Garfunkel 的 Sound Of Silence 不是一首勵志歌（其實是相當頹的），但跟這部勵志片結合，卻有種莫名的震撼，確是一絕！ 這次林超賢不「為打而打」，反而造就了這齣令人印象深刻的精采電影。〈激戰〉超越了〈証人〉，它是林超賢至今最好的作品，所以他的〈魔警〉值得期待！ Hello darkness, my old friend I've come to talk with you again Because a vision softly creeping Left its seeds while I was sleeping And the vision that was planted in my brain Still remains Within the sound...