An excellent movie that keeps you guessing how the story would end. So the best part was towards the ending when Borden and Angier were talking about the sacrifices that they made in order to perform the magic. Throughout the movie, I kept thinking what the secrets to their magic were and hoped that the movie would not end without a clear explanation. You know, there are movies which leave the audience's own imagination or deduction to piece the ending.
I was glad that I was not disappointed. Borden's magic was simply and logical but nevertheless convincing and flawless that everyone thought it was real. As I slowly recall what has happened to him and the people around him, things begun to make sense. It was all about the sacrifices that he made.
For Angier, everyone was thinking why was he still alive and how could he survive the magic show. The revelation of his magic was startling. Again, answers were given.
I have not seen a great movie like this for some time. Strongly recommended!
Friday, January 18, 2008
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Lust, Caution (Warning! Spoilers)
Her performance was superb, given that she was relatively new to acting and bold enough to perform in such highly charged sex scenes. I have heard about the great sex scenes but when I watched the movie, I didn't know that it would be so explicit and daring. Certain scenes were close to pornography, short of revealing the male genital and the penetration. Such acting makes me wonder what went through the minds of Leung and Tang during the bed scenes. Were they able to control their sexuality and remain composed to act professionally? Were both sexually aroused? Did he get an erection or did she have a secretion?
In the story, I felt sorry for Kuang. He did not seize the opportunity when Wang has to sacrifice herself. Clearly, both have developed a liking for each other. This was confirmed when Kuang tried to kiss her but she told him that he had slipped the opportunity 3 years ago. Reflecting on this, sometimes we lose opportunities in life and wish we could be given a second chance to seize them. Unfortunately, second chance was seldom offered.
I also pitied Wang. Perhaps it was the love of her country, or was she just being young and naive that made her did such a sacrifice. She must have understood what it meant to be sleeping with the enemy. She had to betray not only her body but also her soul. To her, pleasure represented agony and love represented hatred. Towards the end, I was surprised that she saved her enemy. Perhaps that was what they called Stockholm syndrome.
A sad love story entwined within....
In the story, I felt sorry for Kuang. He did not seize the opportunity when Wang has to sacrifice herself. Clearly, both have developed a liking for each other. This was confirmed when Kuang tried to kiss her but she told him that he had slipped the opportunity 3 years ago. Reflecting on this, sometimes we lose opportunities in life and wish we could be given a second chance to seize them. Unfortunately, second chance was seldom offered.
I also pitied Wang. Perhaps it was the love of her country, or was she just being young and naive that made her did such a sacrifice. She must have understood what it meant to be sleeping with the enemy. She had to betray not only her body but also her soul. To her, pleasure represented agony and love represented hatred. Towards the end, I was surprised that she saved her enemy. Perhaps that was what they called Stockholm syndrome.
A sad love story entwined within....
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
2007 Achievement
Looking back at 2007, my achievement was the completion of the Standard Chartered Marathon in December. Being my first marathon, I was happy to complete it within my targeted time of less than 5 hours. I always told myself that I will run a marathon someday. At least I should do it once in my lifetime. I heard the calling early last year. It just came to my mind that I should do a daunting task, something that I was not sure if I could do it. Some sort of a personal challenge, if I could say. Maybe it was also because of certain thing which happened in 2006 and I needed to do something to make me feel alive again and to get some feel good factor.
I realised that the toughest part of the marathon was not the race itself, but rather the training. The 20km weekly run since September was burning me out. Few weeks into the training, I dreaded the lone and boring 2-hour run. My knees were also giving me problems every time I run 20km, blaming myself why did I even conceive the idea of running a marathon. Anyway, few weeks before the race, I managed to push myself to cover 50km per week over 3 days. The training required tremendous amount of discipline, self motivation and will power. Having told a few people about my race, it was also the pressure to keep up with the training and complete the race in order not to lose face.
My plan was to train up to at least 30km in a single run. Unfortunately, I could only push myself to complete 23km. This meant that I needed to endure the remaining 19km in order to complete 42km during the event. However, few days before the event, I had the feeling that I would be able to complete the race. Perhaps it was because of the plenty uphill and downhill routes during my training that gave me the confidence. To prepare myself, I also read articles about how to load carbohydrates before the run, how to prevent the body from going into the zone of burning fats (instead of carbohydrates) for energy (i.e. hitting the wall), how to recharge the body with energy gel and isotonic drinks during the race, how to go slow and converse energy. In short, to have a strategy for the race.
During the race, the first 20km was a breeze. After that, my thigh begun to tighten up. When I crossed the 25km mark, my knees begun to hurt and I started to apply deep heat all over my legs. When I reached 34km, the pain was getting worse and I told myself to quickly finish the race before my knees could not take it anymore. So I try to open up my legs and run faster. Surprising, I could do it and overtook many other runners. The worst part came after 38km where there was no shade to shield the sunshine and it was very very hot. I slowed down considerably, dousing myself with water whenever I could. But, by the time I saw the 40km mark, euphoria had slowly erased all the pain and finally, the finishing line was at sight. The last 100m of the race was very well decorated and the atmosphere was really terrific.
At last, I did it and I can proudly announce it to my friends! I did it at a time when I have reached middle age, a time where most of the people would have past their prime.
Would I attempt to do another daunting task this year? I am not sure. We shall see.
I realised that the toughest part of the marathon was not the race itself, but rather the training. The 20km weekly run since September was burning me out. Few weeks into the training, I dreaded the lone and boring 2-hour run. My knees were also giving me problems every time I run 20km, blaming myself why did I even conceive the idea of running a marathon. Anyway, few weeks before the race, I managed to push myself to cover 50km per week over 3 days. The training required tremendous amount of discipline, self motivation and will power. Having told a few people about my race, it was also the pressure to keep up with the training and complete the race in order not to lose face.
My plan was to train up to at least 30km in a single run. Unfortunately, I could only push myself to complete 23km. This meant that I needed to endure the remaining 19km in order to complete 42km during the event. However, few days before the event, I had the feeling that I would be able to complete the race. Perhaps it was because of the plenty uphill and downhill routes during my training that gave me the confidence. To prepare myself, I also read articles about how to load carbohydrates before the run, how to prevent the body from going into the zone of burning fats (instead of carbohydrates) for energy (i.e. hitting the wall), how to recharge the body with energy gel and isotonic drinks during the race, how to go slow and converse energy. In short, to have a strategy for the race.
During the race, the first 20km was a breeze. After that, my thigh begun to tighten up. When I crossed the 25km mark, my knees begun to hurt and I started to apply deep heat all over my legs. When I reached 34km, the pain was getting worse and I told myself to quickly finish the race before my knees could not take it anymore. So I try to open up my legs and run faster. Surprising, I could do it and overtook many other runners. The worst part came after 38km where there was no shade to shield the sunshine and it was very very hot. I slowed down considerably, dousing myself with water whenever I could. But, by the time I saw the 40km mark, euphoria had slowly erased all the pain and finally, the finishing line was at sight. The last 100m of the race was very well decorated and the atmosphere was really terrific.
At last, I did it and I can proudly announce it to my friends! I did it at a time when I have reached middle age, a time where most of the people would have past their prime.
Would I attempt to do another daunting task this year? I am not sure. We shall see.
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Christmas Eve, An Hour After
Another Christmas, another year. If I were to live until 70 years old, I would have completed half of my journey. Anything less, I would have already spent more than half of my life. Have I had a meaningful life so far?
Many years ago, probably 13 or 14 years back, when it was around Christmas time I would ask myself "So this is Christmas, and what have you done?". I have stopped asking myself this question for so long. Don't know why this question popped up now. Thinking back, I do not have much great memory of having spent a fantastic Christmas eve. And I do not think I would in the future as well. I might knew what it was lacking to have a fantastic Christmas eve but was too ashamed and embarrassed to even talk or share with any soul. So sad.
I just watched Young Guns. One of my favourite Western movies of all times. Billy the Kid, ride on… I remember just before I finished my NS, I wanted to be a cowboy. Haha. I even wrote to some ranches in Australia to find work. In return, I asked for food, accommodation, and a chance to ride the horses down the field. Unfortunately, no luck.
I also watched Little Children few days back. Story was great. One of those movies where you get a lot of dialogue but you do not feel bored over it (just like Forrest Gump). Instead, you keep wanting for more of those interesting conversations and wish that the story will keep going. (Warning! May contain spoilers.) I remember there was one scene, when rebuked about being feminist on cheating on one's husband (context of discussion was on the book Madame Bovary), Sarah defended that it was not about cheating but rather the hunger for an alternative and refusal to accept a life of unhappiness. What a statement that was. I guess Sarah really understood the meaning behind it as she was involved in an affair. The affair almost led to an elopement. However, and perhaps fortunately, something happened and knocked the sense out of them. Lucky for them.
There are other affair types of movies that resulted in more destructive outcomes, e.g. Unfaithful, Match Point. After watching these movies, though it was a fiction story, it somehow makes you think twice about starting one. It seems that these movies were trying to warn us about the danger of having an affair. If you were married and especially with children, you will understand what a dangerous game that is to play. People get burn, feelings hurt beyond repair, and the possible hatred that followed. Nevertheless, sometimes the lure of finding some excitement from daily routine life, freshness of being in love again, feeling of being alive, physical attraction, lust, rediscovering the reaction of another body when being touched by someone new, all these might lead you to the dark side.
Many years ago, probably 13 or 14 years back, when it was around Christmas time I would ask myself "So this is Christmas, and what have you done?". I have stopped asking myself this question for so long. Don't know why this question popped up now. Thinking back, I do not have much great memory of having spent a fantastic Christmas eve. And I do not think I would in the future as well. I might knew what it was lacking to have a fantastic Christmas eve but was too ashamed and embarrassed to even talk or share with any soul. So sad.
I just watched Young Guns. One of my favourite Western movies of all times. Billy the Kid, ride on… I remember just before I finished my NS, I wanted to be a cowboy. Haha. I even wrote to some ranches in Australia to find work. In return, I asked for food, accommodation, and a chance to ride the horses down the field. Unfortunately, no luck.
I also watched Little Children few days back. Story was great. One of those movies where you get a lot of dialogue but you do not feel bored over it (just like Forrest Gump). Instead, you keep wanting for more of those interesting conversations and wish that the story will keep going. (Warning! May contain spoilers.) I remember there was one scene, when rebuked about being feminist on cheating on one's husband (context of discussion was on the book Madame Bovary), Sarah defended that it was not about cheating but rather the hunger for an alternative and refusal to accept a life of unhappiness. What a statement that was. I guess Sarah really understood the meaning behind it as she was involved in an affair. The affair almost led to an elopement. However, and perhaps fortunately, something happened and knocked the sense out of them. Lucky for them.
There are other affair types of movies that resulted in more destructive outcomes, e.g. Unfaithful, Match Point. After watching these movies, though it was a fiction story, it somehow makes you think twice about starting one. It seems that these movies were trying to warn us about the danger of having an affair. If you were married and especially with children, you will understand what a dangerous game that is to play. People get burn, feelings hurt beyond repair, and the possible hatred that followed. Nevertheless, sometimes the lure of finding some excitement from daily routine life, freshness of being in love again, feeling of being alive, physical attraction, lust, rediscovering the reaction of another body when being touched by someone new, all these might lead you to the dark side.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)