Almost Buddhist - 戲‧論

★★★★☆ The Green Book is sort of a guidebook for the African American, written by Victor Hugo Green who is also an African American, to help them find the accommodations and restaurants that would accept them back in the mid-20th century. Right, 'Green Book' is about the race issue in the 1960s when the black were still not allowed to dine and stay in certain motels and restaurants. So while I was viewing, I felt like from time to time that something dramatically violent and devastating might take place, and the film would turn into somewhat a tragedy, but it never happens as it's considered a comedy-drama inspired by a true story, which is surprisingly heart-warming, and certainly touching and encouraging to me. The formula is kind of simple and cliched but I'm okay with it as long as it's made inspiring and well developed and told. It takes two men of different races and backgrounds, one black, one white, get them in a car, send them down on a road trip t...

★★☆☆☆ ' Wreck It Ralph ' is a heart-warming, thought-provoking, surely exhilarating piece of animation that I appreciate quite much! But years later, 'Ralph Breaks the Internet' the highly anticipated sequel somehow feels like short of some climax that would make it as memorable and inspirational. Yea, the visualized Internet is cool and interesting to watch. The Disney Princesses treat is surprisingly fun! There're expected chases and sarcasm at times but overall it feels like nothing special! To me the most funny moment is ironically not in the film but after it ends and before the end credits roll, which, trust me, would really give you a good laugh. So just stay till the real end. This time it's not about good or bad. It looks like, as the title suggests, about the Internet but it doesn't get deep about it. The Internet thing is, as a matter of fact, just there as a backdrop. As it's getting to the end, you know it's about friendship th...

★★★☆☆ The film starts with an intriguing opening where a man enters a seemingly motel room, locks the door, checks the window, makes sure he's safe and not followed, then he moves the furniture, rolls up the carpet, pries open the wooden floor, hides a bag of something underneath, and then puts everything back in place. As it develops, it manages to keep us interested with frequent changes of POV, flashbacks and backstories to finally make up the whole picture which is kind of entertaining but weird and not so inspirational after all. It reminds me of some of Tarantino's films but less violent and dramatic! Sure it's scary to be in a hotel where there're two-way mirrors peeking at you like those in the El Royale! Well, it seems like we're endowed with the nature of wanting to peek at someone else's life. We all sort of like movies because they somehow do work like a chance for us to peek at someone else's story, their privacy as entertainment so to...

★★★☆☆ 想看〈 Roma 〉，不是因為它橫掃各大影展獎項及得到影評人一致好評，而是因為導演 Alfonso Cuaron 的前作〈 Gravity 〉實在令我嘆為觀止。但如果你抱著看〈 Gravity 〉的心態去看〈 Roma 〉，我想未看到四分之一你或者已經離座！所以事前調整好心態很重要，這齣非常個人化的影像史詩，最好是自己一個人在家裡，關掉電話，拉下窗簾，盡量減少一切外界干擾，安安靜靜地觀賞。如果你了解一點墨西哥歷史，或者你會看得更投入！ Roma 不是義大利那個，是墨西哥城那個，是導演兒時成長的故鄉。〈 Roma 〉算是導演的童年回憶錄，因為是回憶，所以故事是薄弱的，片段是零碎的，沒有迂迴曲折的橋段，沒有悲天憫人的煽情，鏡頭的焦點是一個女傭，以及圍繞她的生活點滴，一切顯得平淡寫實，卻也帶點夢幻，可能因為電影是黑白及其出色的光暗層次感。一些看似簡單容易的定鏡，其實都是經過精心計算，而導演擅長的長鏡，在這裡已被玩到出神入化、流暢自然，毫無違背感，最後那幕海灘戲，拍得既緊張亦感人！〈 Roma 〉看似是一部平平無奇的電影，但實際上它要求的技術含量是非常高的，這也是 Alfonso Cuaron 令人佩服的地方。〈 Roma 〉是一部需要用心和耐性去慢慢品味的作品。 看完這齣戲，頓然覺得屋外的鳥鳴和雨聲特別清脆明晰……而腦海裡也不時浮現一句話：有時男人真是好仆街，女人真是好偉大！

This should be the 6 th ‘The Best & The Worst’, meaning ‘Almost Buddhist’ has been around here for 6 years. It’s never been easy, because I thought of giving up from time to time, like a man hoping things to come on right but they were never really quite what he expected! Truth is, it took a lot of correct, precise causes and conditions to allow me to have made it so far, and therefore I so much appreciate it! I pray everyday that I’m almost there. That I’m on the right track to the right place! That after I’m gone, some of my words here would give people courage and direction to go on when they feel like giving up and lost, and also be able to upset and disappoint those who are so full of themselves! That all the Buddhists out there would know the fact that the Buddha has never wanted us to be religious, to be narrow-minded, to be biased and proud, to be so called a Buddhist, because being such one could be just another trap that pulls us much more further away from being en...

★★★☆☆ 這部戲是這樣的：一開始的主觀鏡頭，會讓你看到一班人，正在拍攝一部長約三十幾分鐘一 take 過的喪屍戲。這場戲你會覺得挺無聊胡鬧，也有很多奇怪不合理的地方，但〈屍殺片場〉的精華不是開頭那一 take 過的喪屍戲，而是之後它解構那場戲是如何拍成，以及那些奇怪不合理是怎麼造成！這是一部會讓你看得恍然大悟、會心微笑的電影，不算好精采，勝在幾有趣！ 有趣的地方，是它透過不同的視角去展現同一件事情。它令我想起另一齣有異曲同工之妙的日本電影〈 愛的成人式 〉──到最後大家都 O 嘴！ O 嘴的原因是事情並不是我們所想的那樣！正是這種先入為主的主觀，釀成很多我們生活上的煩惱和衝突！很多時候，我們都不會也不願意換個角度去看人或事，人人都覺得自己看到的就是事實的全部，但其實是永遠不會有事實的全部，只會有不同的角度！ 〈屍〉再次提醒大家，原來拍一部戲，無論是爛片還是好片，都需要很多條件、不同崗位的人互相配合才能成就。鏡頭前我們看到的簡單一幕，鏡頭後其實包含很多複雜的操作。在此，向那些默默耕耘的電影工作者致敬，是他們的不辭辛勞與不斷創新，一次次刺激我們這顆既美好又齷齪的心！

★☆☆☆☆ 〈紅高梁〉、〈大紅燈籠高高掛〉、〈秋菊打官司〉幼時皆似懂非懂地朝拜過。〈活著〉、〈一個都不能少〉、〈 我的父親母親 〉讓我真正認識並欣賞張藝謀。但〈英雄〉讓我發毛；〈十面埋伏〉令我流汗；〈滿城盡帶黃金甲〉使我翻了白眼；〈 山楂樹之戀 〉有點安慰；〈 歸來 〉之後，我以為張某真的歸來了，可惜只是誤會！ 張藝謀算是一位多產的中國導演，但作品參差，新作〈影〉又讓我翻了一次白眼！整體感覺就是：咦，電影開始了嗎，哦、打瞌睡、哦，咦，結束了嗎，好耶！〈英雄〉賣弄的是色彩，〈影〉營銷的是黑白灰的水墨美學，有藝術美感嗎？有點。但造做的藝術美感你喜歡嗎？我是厭惡的。故事是虛虛實實兩頭不到岸也搔不到癢處的，演技是誇誇張張煞有介事的，氣氛是雨一直下很不融洽的，動作是……唉，是我錯了，以為是動作片！ 也許不是我不明白，是這時代變化太快！也許我不應該總是懷緬過去，藐視現在！也許我不該有所期待，說聲阿彌陀佛，然後離開！但沒有期待的人生又是一種怎樣的人生？也許真的是我不明白，不關這個時代！

★★★★☆ I guess the Americans wanting to land on the Moon so bad was merely an irrational act of nationalism and patriotism as a result of the Cold War with the Soviet Union back then! The space race was no different from a war that the Americans thought they had to win even if it’d cost them lots of sacrifices and deaths! So ‘we choose to go to the Moon not because it’s easy but because it’s hard’ or ‘one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind’ is actually like total bullshit propaganda! What leap? To where? I mean, what have we achieved and learned ever since? Have we made our Earth a better place to dwell in? Have we learned to cherish what we have even more? Have we been healthier, happier and less troubled? Men going to the Moon was by no means necessary. It had to happen just because some were being way too aggressive and proud and selfish to even care what should’ve been done for mankind here on Earth in lieu of burning a whole lot of money just to send few men up to ...

★★★★★ Den Skyldige 是丹麥語，英文是 The Guilty ，「罪人」的意思。基督教有所謂的原罪，說人天生有罪，所以有犯罪的傾向，記住不要調亂邏輯，不是人犯罪所以成為罪人，而是人天生有罪、所以會犯罪。人又為何天生有罪？追本溯源，是因為人類祖先亞當和夏娃不聽神的話，吃了禁果犯了罪，被神趕出伊甸園，導致他們的後代即是我們，都要繼承這種罪性，而人的一生就是一個贖罪的過程。但，為何完美的神會造出不完美的亞當和夏娃？如果神造的不完美，神還可以叫作神嗎？邏輯上是想不通的，唯一的解釋就是，神無聊，想搞事！但，完美的神又怎麼會無聊？好啦，話扯遠了，或許我們這些不完美的人，是永遠無法明白完美的神到底想怎樣的，是吧？ 這部丹麥電影沒有在香港上映，也不是甚麼大製作，而且是外語片，很容易被忽視，但這部入選今年奧斯卡最佳外語片的小本製作，絕對是經典神作。神在於它從頭到尾都只有一個場景──報案中心、一位主角──被降職去接聽報警電話的警察、一種道具──電話，沒配樂、沒動作、沒特技、沒倒敘插敘、沒花巧剪接，除了對話，過場寂靜，就還是對話撐足八十幾分鐘的片長，透過人物的通話內容，電話裡頭對方的環境和行動的聲音來帶動劇情，讓觀眾自行想像當時發生的事情和畫面，這種大膽的做法，反映出編劇兼導演 Gustav Moller 的藝高，而〈 Den Skyldige 〉只是他的處女作，這位仁兄未來的作品確實令人期待。峰迴路轉的劇情，緊張攝人的氣氛，聰明破格的拍攝手法，一絲不茍的劇本，絕對是小本創造經典好戲的完美示範，未來這部戲應該會被翻拍再翻拍。 電影構思一個令人佩服的地方，就是開頭那些看似跟主要案情不相關的幾通電話，卻是主導未來劇情發展的重要理據。電影的焦點不單只是揭示電話那頭發生的案件，同時也是電話這頭男主角的一次心靈求贖、良心發現的過程。而兩者是互相影響的，男主角的個人遭遇，直接影響他對案情的判斷和反應，兩者絲絲相扣，非常有說服力。人總是喜歡先入為主，在不自覺的情況下，根據自己的個人經驗和閱歷，去主觀定斷眼前發生的人和事，這也是業力主導行為一個很鮮明的例子，無奈的是，我們基本上無法做到真正的客觀。先入為主的結果往往就是錯判形勢，導演就是利用這個人性的基本弱點，透過一通通的電話對談，讓觀眾自己根據所聽到的，去推斷可能看到的，逐步揭開案件背後的真相和男主角被降職的原...

☆☆☆☆☆ Don’t mistake ‘The Predator’ for ‘Predator’! ‘Predator’ is a genre classic from 1987 featuring Arnie in his greatest shape fighting off a horrifying never before seen alien monster. ‘The Predator’ is supposed to be a salute to the classic itself as the director, Shane Black, is one of the original crew into the forest to meet the ugly back in the 1987 film, but it’s a total mess, the terrible of the terrible. It’s retarded in every aspect. The dialogues are retarded. The fights are carefree, and retarded. The story is rushing, and retarded with no setup or buildup or whatsoever. The acting is retarded. And this time for the very first time, they introduced, ladies and gentlemen, the predator dogs! But don’t get carried away yet, because they’re retarded as well. (Shane Black in the front, right behind are Arnie and Carl Weathers in the original 'Predator' film) Maybe I was retarded too to want to check it out and even finish watching it. I wonder, why they’d w...

★★☆☆☆ 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！

★★★☆☆ 2014’s ‘ The Equalizer ’ is a damn cool, rare piece of action cinema that I’d like to revisit when I’m alone and bored, longing to be entertained and thrilled and compelled to think about stuff like the use of violence in pursuit of so called justice! I’ve, therefore, been expecting the sequel to come. Here it is, ‘The Equalizer 2’, which is by no means a complete letdown or a failure like most people out there tend to see it. Right, the pace is a bit dragged out! The story is sort of routine and predictable. The action sequences are surprisingly few and not as exhilarating after all, especially the final combat that is more or less of an anti-climax to be honest. I however, appreciate those conversations and pep talks between fights, its consistent mood and the heart-pounding score, though Denzel’s performance here is far from impressive! I don’t know. Maybe I’m already so sick of mindless action films that provide nothing more than massive blood and violence and exagge...

★★☆☆☆ 女主角為男主角坐了五年牢，出獄後千里迢迢去找他，重逢當晚問他：覺得世上甚麼東西最重要？他說了一大堆，簡單說就是名利、地位、金錢！女方顯然不同意，在她心中，情義才是最重要的。事實上，人可以沒名沒利沒地位甚至沒錢，都可以活，因為只有人間有情，就能讓人繼續奮鬥下去！試問，無情的人、你想交往嗎？無情的家、你想回嗎？無情的地方、你想呆嗎？無情的世界其實就是地獄，沒有人會想活在地獄裡吧！ 最近聽友人說：人是會長大的！這句話無疑隱含種種無奈和感慨！我們從孩童時期的天真無邪不記仇，被江湖慢慢磨練成世故算計、有仇必報的「君子」，這種無奈的轉變，確實令人心酸！但，我們是不是真的完全沒有選擇？是不是必須變得跟人家一樣奸詐，甚至更狠更絕，才能在這個江湖打滾？「天下無賊」不是說這個世界真的無賊，而是你選擇相信這個世界無賊。「人在江湖，身不由己」也不是先有了個所謂的江湖，才讓你身不由己，而是大家都選擇了身不由己，才成就了奸險的江湖！有人的地方，才有江湖啊，不是嗎？ 電影本身並不可觀！節奏緩慢，劇情沉悶，沒有張力。明明是一部寫實情感片，卻配了科幻片的音樂，古怪突兀，不過還真出乎你意料，劇中真有 UFO 出現！一些明明是嚴肅的場面，卻搞得人哭笑不得，都不知自己在看喜劇還是悲劇！就算是所謂的黑幫片，動作場面當然也不會是重點，因為這是中國新生代導演賈樟柯的作品，他拍的是文藝小眾片，在國際上他是屢屢獲獎的，外國人看可能覺得新鮮，但就真的不是我的那杯茶，唯一欣賞的就只是某些長鏡頭運用和演員演技。 這位仁兄的作品，我想，以後可免了！ 昨天下午，曾經教我下象棋的大姨丈去世了！我記起了他之前經常掛在嘴邊的「四句偈」：春冰薄，人情更薄；登天難，求人更難；黃蓮苦，貧窮更苦；江湖險，人心更險。當初覺得他說的挺對，現在我覺得，人始終是可以選擇不被這個世界改變的，是可以拒絕「長大」的，不是這個世界如何，你就要如何，而是你用甚麼心去看待這個世界。他家是信佛的，但他本人好像並不虔誠，無論如何，願阿彌陀佛慈悲，帶他 ( 暫時 ) 離開這個沒有最凶險只有更凶險的江湖，回歸心中那個清澈高遠的自由的世界，不用再繼續學習「長大」！

★★★☆☆ It’s been a real while, as I’ve become pickier about which film to check out, and there isn’t much I want to say here either, even if I do. These days, people can hardly get by without the Internet. And they don’t seem to need to memorize anything while they have Mr. Google all around to help! Is this a good sign or a bad? The film doesn’t have an opinion about that but like I said, every coin has two sides. Technology, like anything else, is nothing good or evil. It all depends how you look at it and make use of it to either benefit or destroy. No matter what, keep in mind that it’s always you, not things outside you! ‘Searching’ is a crime thriller that somehow feels like a melancholy drama. It’s refreshing and intriguing as the whole event is presented via cameras on various devices like computers, smart phones and TVs. It’s fast paced, and has several plot twists that may not be so much of a surprise after all if you’ve seen films like ‘The Unusual Suspect’ where you...

★★★☆☆ Oh my, I’ve watched all episodes of the series so far though I’m not quite into it as a matter of fact, except for ‘M.I. 1’, which I consider an action spy classic that none of its sequels can surpass! ‘M.I. 2’, ‘3’ and ‘ 4 ’ are handled by different directors in an attempt to, I guess, showcase various styles of action choreography and storytelling, but the outcome is more or less a letdown. ‘M.I. 5’ is more like it but still not as intriguing and gripping! In the latest ‘M.I. 6’ aka ‘Fallout’, Tom Cruise, though much older now, continues to do what he’s best at, daring stunts, on his own, without a double! The series has been concentrating more and more on brawn than brains, which is no longer my cup of tea. Like expected, Cruise is pulling more realistic yet pretty awesome stunts here than ever, and he wastes no time. The two-hour-and-a-half film is basically of action, a (boring) plot twist, action, another (boring) plot twist, action, and a happy ending as usual. Et...

★★☆☆☆ ‘Destination Wedding’ is basically of talk, talk and talk some more, non-stop! And the only ones talking are Winona Ryder’s Lindsay and Keanu Reeves’s Frank. Others are just like cardboard figures in the back being talked about. If you’re fond of a drama of non-stop cynical, sarcastic talks, and awkwardly fun moments at times, this is the film for you. If you’re looking for some sort of romance or sentimentality instead, you might as well skip it. The only reason I checked it out is Keanu Reeves, who appears to be not so amusing as I expected him to be in a comedy after all! I wonder sometimes, why things nowadays like films or stuff have to be made so atypical or unconventional in order just to stand out. What’s wrong about being typical or old school? Why would filmmakers have to make a film as weird and never before seen as possible just to try to please and refresh us in a sense? Why wouldn’t they come up with decent characters telling a decent story? I’m not saying ...

★★☆☆☆ Since I’m kind of immune to horror films or stuff, films that I consider truly scary are very rare. I can’t even remember when was the last time I checked out a real good one! Plus, I always feel like men are a whole lot scarier than ghosts or spirits or any kind in terms of perverted behaviors and perceptions. And as a Buddhist, I don’t believe that ghosts some claim they see sometimes are those from the Hungry Ghost Realm in Buddhism. What they actually see is merely the reflections of their distorted views or thinking. So, what they should really be scared of, or beware of, are not ghosts they see out there, but their own mind inside! The film is highly praised by most critics saying it’s the scariest film of the year! Is it visually scary or gross like most of the horror films out there tend to be? No, I don’t think so! Atmospherically? A little bit! To be honest, I don’t quite get what’s really going on there, but I don’t really care either! It tries to sound scary ...

★★★☆☆ Deadpool tends to make a joke out of almost everything in any situation at any time probably because of his immortality, which could be a curse or a blessing. It all depends how you look at it. If he wasn’t immortal, he wouldn’t be that mad and bitchy I guess. But less bitchy, less fun! I mean, why so serious while everything you know is going to fall apart in the end, and nothing stays indeed! Yet I can’t help but feel a little bit sad considering that everything in this world, not just family that Wade emphasizes in the film, is basically a F-word! But I know it’s no need to be so cynical or melancholy here either, since life is not about what you get in the end. It’s what you give! ‘ Deadpool ’ is not my cup of tea! I don’t know. Maybe it came at a wrong time when I didn’t have the right mood to feel it right, and I have no interest at all to check it out again. This sequel is, I gotta say, much more entertaining and hilarious in light of better action choreography, s...

★★★★☆ If you’re curious, First Reformed is the name of a historical church where Ethan Hawke’s Toller is given a job as a pastor. He looks organized and restrained, but deep down he’s wrestling with his religious beliefs and some unbearable pain from the past. It’s like the film itself where things seem so clean and neat on the surface, but underneath it’s a rather disturbing and twisted story going on! I don’t feel like this is a film intending to provoke with religious and ethical debates though it may sound like it as there’re loads of conversations and narrations about that. It’s more like a story of a broken soul never being able to be unbroken no matter how. Well, I guess you should never have an intention of making the broken unbroken, because you can never undo what’s done no matter how willing you’re to try and sacrifice for it. Suffering happens when you’re not accepting who you are, better or worse, but attempting to be who you once were, and be so called normal aga...