Followups

I followed up my Starbucks cappuccino and Gesha coffee posts last week. This time I am following up some other old posts:
- the one about X-Men: First Class. I found a better clip of Moira and Frost.
- the one about the Fyre festival. It has been 3 years since the fiasco happened but the media keeps the stories going. Netflix (and Hulu too!) released documentary about the "founder" Billy McFarland and the fraud last year. Then more news at the end of the year: McFarland was writing an autobiography (that no one wants to publish except himself) and planning a Fyre Festival 2.0 while he is serving his 6-year sentence in prison.

機上娛樂-過年篇

來回港美共廿幾小時的航程又是看電影的好機會，最近幾年多了看香港和亞洲電影，可能心底的本土情感被召喚上面了（當然美國英雄片也看過太多遍了）以下是今次由頭看到尾的三套電影（有一兩套中途棄了）

作家的謊言：筆忠誘罪 這是又一套從向西村上春樹小說改編的電影，去年初看了《西謊極落之太爆太子太空艙》已十分欣賞，雨僑演一樓一鳳姐相當出色；今次的主角是一位搞外情的作家，女主角由何佩瑜（Jeana Ho）飾演，沙律也有客串兩個鏡頭，算是蕭定一/HMV/Viu TV這個「主流」以外的班底吧。出自向西村上春樹的故事情節當然有一定水準，本土值得支持。

首相失憶了 這是同學前幾天在聚會介紹的日本電影，講一個相當不受歡迎兼行為卑劣（似曾相識？）的日本首相因遇襲失憶「從新做人」的故事，當然有不少超現實的情節，好笑得來也令人看得心頭暖暖。

信用欺詐師JP：香港浪漫篇 又是日本電影，女主角是「聽過個名唔知乜樣」的長澤正美，講一班「老千」鬥智的故事，原來是一個日劇系列的「番外篇」，頗多戲份在香港拍攝，當然看得有感情；而很少看日劇的本人，不太會估劇情，所以整體上也很有娛樂性。

The movies that made us: Dirty Dancing

個人認為Netflix最吸引的影片還是紀錄片，無論是別人還是自家的製作，均有很多佳作，例如The ??? that made us這個系列，這次是以電影為主題，深入探討的幾套電影入面，我最有興趣的是Dirty Dancing，當年熱潮席捲全球時我還是香港一個中學生，記得是在朋友家觀看鐳射影碟(LD)，以我英文水平基本上不知故事講甚麼，不過有連場熱辣辣貼身舞的電影總不會差到那裡去！原來這套票房十分成功，堪稱一代經典的作品，當年各大電影公司均不願投資，最後肯出手的是一家一直製作direct to VHS（即只透過錄影帶發行不在戲院上映）的公司，打算以本片作為進軍真.電影業的頭炮，可算是一擊即中（可惜無以為繼，以倒閉收場）更搞笑的是千辛萬苦找來兩位很適合做男女主角的演員，兩人卻有前嫌，製作人花了不少心機調解！由於成本極低，找配合那個時代的跳舞音樂也費了很多功夫，男主角Patrick Swayze也貢獻一首自作自唱的作品She's Like the Wind（電影上映後當然成為大熱）值得一提的是他角色是一位跳舞高手，Swayze真人原來跳舞相當有根底但有傷患，為了電影效果多番重覆有難度的動作，可見他相當敬業。請欣賞本片原聲大碟：

奧斯卡爵士樂

繼2017年的La La Land之後，又有一套和爵士樂有關的電影在奧斯卡頒獎禮大出鋒頭，就是贏得本屆最佳電影的Green Book。一如既往，電影甫獲獎即惹來議論紛紛，以下幾點值得一提：
荷里活被指「左膠」當道，傾向頒獎給題材和少數族群如黑人或同性戀者相關的作品，Green Book似乎也符合以上「條件」：故事主線是黑人音樂家Don Shirley到美國南部巡迴演出時僱用一位白人司機Tony Vallelonga（也有Shirley和白人同性戀者好事被撞破後被補的情節）
有人批評故事老掉牙，倒過來是白人音樂家僱用黑人司機之類的題材，肯定沒有掌聲。
也有「相反意見」指電影焦點放在白人司機多於黑人音樂家，即是「不夠左膠」？
而Don Shirley後人指先人當年在南部根本未有受到幾多歧視，和司機也沒有建立起友誼，有誇張失實之嫌（不過Vallelonga的兒子則力指電影以事實為主）

各位請欣賞一下Dr Shirley的演奏：

解憂節目

上次香港之行，心情沉重，幸好自癒能力算是頗強，想到善用醫院兩個探病時間的空檔，先是去了銅鑼灣誠品書店，買了兩本好書，一本探究草書，另一本細數宋詞；繼而闖闖中環大會堂，看看畫展，聽聽香港小交響樂團音樂會「藍月夜」該下午演出曲目包括：

• 舒伯特 B小調第八交響曲，D759，「未完成」
• 莫扎特 降E大調第九鋼琴協奏曲，K271，「茱諾姆」 （由年輕女鋼琴家Sophie Pacini負責獨奏）
• 荀伯格 《昇華之夜》，作品4

三者由城市維也納連結起來，雖然勉強也無所謂。最特別要算是最後一曲伴上前衛現代舞。其實這首算荀伯格前期還未很「難聽」（指應用前衛音樂理論）的代表作，我聽過頗多次，卻不知原來此曲源自一首詩，而詩的主題是一個女子在月夜下向她的男人告白：她和別人有了BB，此段當然心情激動，清楚地反映在舞者的動作中，其後獲得諒解，並決定共同開始新生活，三個階段分別由三位女舞者演譯，而男主角則是由始至終同一人。非常慶幸沒有錯過如此別具特色的演出。

除了音樂會，竟然也去了戲院看電影（訪港極少看電影，之前較有印象的是去看「那些年」和The Lego movie而已）看的更是極少看的日本電影！皆因在Pokka Cafe看到「解憂雜貨店」的宣傳品，那是改編自近年讀了很多的作家東野圭吾的小說，下機當晚睡不著才讀完全本「真夏方程式」呢！「解」是東野首本集奇幻與推理情節於一身的温情作品，我反而未讀過原著而先看電影版。由於喜歡此作家，對電影自然也愛屋及烏。故事圍繞一家已結業的雜貨店，當年老闆歡近人家來信詢問疑難，他會一一細心解答；老闆過身店也結業多年後，有三個少年在犯事之後無意中闖入，適值時空交錯，收到多年前多封詢問信，他們這幾位以未來人身份回信，改變了好幾段人生。有影評說由於要講的事太多，人物的刻劃有點片面，可能也有道理，總之我就十分喜歡。

機上娛樂：狂睇紀錄片

上次香港一行在機上看了好幾套紀錄片，可能因為有興趣的劇情片已看完，亦可能想靠紀錄片入睡！無論如何，也覺得值得介紹一下（我特地把片名記在筆記簿嘛）：

In Pursuit of Silence 老實說，看完差不多兩週經已印象全無！只記得是講現代人生活很多噪音，走到深山享受寧靜對身心有益云云。我想有點道理，不過沒有音樂會比較悶吧。

Yarn 本片講了世界各地幾位以針織作為媒介的女藝術家的故事，這個算是相當冷門又女性化的媒介，題材的確極有新鮮感。

Obit 這是一套介紹報紙訃聞版記者的紀錄片。不知現代人一般有幾多機會閱讀報紙訃聞？我印象中的訃聞主要是地區免費報刊出關於本地人士去世那些，到底是收費廣告嗎？香港報紙的當然是，皆因我家去年就登過。這些當然和本片談及的有所不同：後者都是有記者採訪家人搜集資料然後寫出介紹生平的文章。原來以往訃聞部乃係報館把記者「流放」的部門！其實他們責任重大呢，出起錯（例如主角未死！）後果頗嚴重吧。

Stories from Wizard of Oz

I was listening to the local classical station this morning. I think it just finished playing "Over the Rainbow" when I tuned in. As we all know, the song came from the movie "Wizard of Oz" but the DJ said the song almost got cut from the movie (wikipedia has more details). I learned something new everyday. And the DJ mentioned another story about the movie: the coat worn by one of the character was bought from a used store. When the character put on the coat and reached into the pocket he found the name of the original owner, none other than the author of "Wizard of Oz", L. Frank Baum! Snopes.com has more details about this story (and it's not too sure this was not made up)

機上娛樂2017暑假篇之二

繼續寫寫其餘在旅程看過的電影/節目。

• 三少爺的劍：本片改編自我未讀過的同名古龍小說。首先出場的是一位劍法高超的劍客，原來他叫燕十三，卻不是三少爺，接著出場的是三少爺的舊情人，真正的神劍山莊三少爺卻躲在妓院做打雜，是為了避開一眾迫他稱霸武林的家人情人，當然事與願違不得不戰。男女角長相都不太吸引，算是打發了點無聊時間吧。其實本片最令我覺得有趣的是最尾演員名單出現了一個久違了的名字：顧冠忠，我認不出舊情人父親就是由他飾演；另一位我認得出飾演三少爺父親的，正是徐少強！這兩位同時出現，相信80年代電視迷都會聯想起當年轟動一時的「中途易角事件」：麗的天蠶變主角雲飛揚本來由徐飾演，拍攝及出街半途，徐突然失蹤，結果找到顧頂上，在劇中的解釋是練成天蠶神功後連容貌也改變了！再Google一下，更發現本片導演爾冬陞在1977年正是飾演楚原執導的三少爺的劍成名，而徐和顧兩人也有份！而當年三少爺的「新情人」由余安安飾演，比這個版本漂亮吧。
• 這個冬天不太冷：這個電視節目由無線旗下三位音樂人參與，一起遊阿拉斯加，三集節目介紹了北極光，通往北極的公路，位於北極圈內的小鎮巴羅（Barrow，竟然有香港人移民當地揸的士！）等等，三位音樂才華實在不弱，在極地彈彈唱唱十分好feel，大家不妨上YouTube看看。
• Beltracchi: The Art of Forgery: 即使對藝術品古玩拍賣市場毫不認識，都會聽過贗品充斥的問題，不過贗品「製作人」的故事，相信大家就不會聽過幾多，始終他們都是「見光死」，難得近年有「落網人」公開其故事，當然他們「從良」後要賺點收入，甚至可以靠影片提高知名度，或者有人欣賞其原創作品而成功轉型也說不定，這個肯定是Beltracchi出鏡的原因。此君本身頗有才華，十四歲就已經能抄畢加索到似模似樣；亦對藝術史藝術家有深入認識，他說他會從藝術家作品集找「靈感」，例如某畫家有一段時期沒有作品流傳，他就會從其他敍述中「創作」一件風格相符的作品。至於如何找舊畫布，偽造作品被收藏家買入的故事，也很有趣。Beltracchi夫婦曾經因為這門「生意」十分風光，不過2010年被補及被判有罪，需還款歸原主兼坐監，真是一場空。

不同場加映：到埗翌日是星期日，大雨無出街，爸爸介紹看港台31台逢星期日下午播放的音樂節目，播的是「Bob Dylan 無處是吾家」我陰謀論地認為在回歸廿週年介紹這位以抗爭音樂聞名的唱作人，是港台又一次暗反「阿爺」:P

還有一天早上channel surfing，在電影台看到警察鬥大盜的《通天大盜》，主角是林子祥（被盜一方保險公司的調查員）及楊紫瓊（心靈空虛以做案為樂的富婆），部份在巴黎拍攝，又有滑雪滑翔機騎馬等exotic玩意，當年（87年）普羅大眾相信沒有像現在般常常有機會外遊玩樂，自然覺得格外有新鮮感。就算撇除這些今日看來很cheesy的情節，我也覺得頗有娛樂性。

機上娛樂2017暑假篇之一

一如過往，坐長途機都是睡不著，今次第一程看了三部電影，兩集電視及一部紀錄片。回程也看了三部電影，兩集電視及一場音樂會錄像。

• Logan：此片算是X-Men系列作品，之前幾套我都非常欣賞，所以對本片十分期待，上畫時本就想拉隊去看可是攪不成。上機前已和兒子討論，他說既以金剛狼為主角，相信會很血腥，事實上的確如此。不過片中時代的Logan，能力已不復當年勇，連打不死之身也走下坡；故事主題是以「人工製造」Mutant為「武器」的公司，因為新技術淘汰舊技術，要把一大批少年武器殺害，以揸出租汽車為業的Logan，就被捲入拯救行動，包括一名有他的Mutant基因的少女。
• Lego Batman movie：早幾年在香港戲院看了第一套Lego Movie，結局揭露原來是現實世界中的爸爸不准兒子亂動他的Lego collections，十分欣賞。本片的主題是惡搞Batman和Joker的關係：前者似乎不能沒有後者！感覺上太過胡鬧。
• John Wick, John Wick 2：由Matrix「型到震」的Keanu Reeves著到官仔骨骨做打不死的「殺神」，其實兩集內容差不多，我還是先看第二集再在回程看第一集呢！第一集中Wick為亡妻留給他的愛狗被殺復仇，第二集則被迫為黑幫大佬殺人再對抗全球追殺令。相信導演很受吳宇森及發哥的英雄片風格及形像影響，原來不只我這樣想，請看此網上文章。
• Jack Reacher：本片有點John Wick X Logan的味道，皆因靚佬湯飾演的主角Jack Reacher也是打不死的戰神，而主線又是打救懷疑被他「留種」生的女兒；當然，片中角色最吸引我的是我一直十分喜歡的舊Sitcom "How I Met Your Mother"女主角Robin(Cobie Smulder)她飾演一名好打得的女軍人，其下屬因揭發軍火商陰謀被殺，她順理成章被陷害，和她常常通訊卻素未謀面的Reacher也被捲入其中，逃亡期間有少許Smulder露bra鏡頭甚養眼；芳鹷十八飾演機警的「女兒」的Danika Yarosh也演得很稱職。
• 骨妹：本身不算梁詠琪fans，其實由她主演吸引力不大，不過很好奇一把年紀的她如何演譯一個骨妹，原來她的戲份是已離開了該行；故事開始時梁和丈夫在台灣生活，無意中在報紙看到一則㝷人廣告，尋的正是她，事緣她的老友剛過世，梁回到她長大及工作的澳門和其他舊友團聚，原來過世友人購了保險受益人是已經翻臉遠走的她！接著就倒敘當年梁(桑拿場19號 )如何入行，如何從「老師傅」（「重口味」江美儀飾演）努力學按摩，如何得到其他同場女幫助，特別是未過世前的18號，如何和18號艱苦地共同湊大後者的私生子；當中的母子情及姐妹情實在賺人熱淚，也算對骨場⻣妹有了少少認識，剛去完澳門的我感覺上好像去了兩次呢。

 
最後介紹我在機上聽了的一張爵士唱片，是鼓手Will Calhoun向Elvin Jones致敬之作，可以在Spotify上重溫（當中有cover Wayne Shorter一曲Mahjong，倒和去香港有點關係呢）：


請留意part 2

澳洲遊之電影篇(二)

繼續寫由SF去Sydney坐Air New Zealand航機上看的電影：

• X-men: First Class. 在眾多super hero系列入面，X-men我起初因太怪異無興趣去認識，看了一套Days of the Future Past，被其有正有邪的角色們和超越時空的故事深深吸引，去年看年Apocalypse，今次則看了更舊的First Class，當年飾演Moira的Rose Byrne當然更年輕，穿內衣執行任務一幕實在正，還有更火辣的January Jones（飾演Emma Frost)，本片除了養眼，故事本身也精彩。
• The Accountant. 我對主演本片的Ben Affleck其實頗有偏見：繼成名初期後主演的電影水準參差（見維基），不過表面上是會計師暗地裡和黑幫週旋食大茶飯的主題又幾吸引（皆因我的老友是會計師暗地裡是獨立音樂人及衝浪士）除了連場打鬥，Affleck的角色如何踏上雙重身份之路也夠奇情，值得一看。
• 點五步. 本片的主題曲剛在電影金像獎獲最佳原創電影歌曲獎，我實在為他們高興。令八十年代在沙田長大的我更感動的其實是故事本身，講述一間沙田Band5學校校長為改變校內一班精力過盛常常惹事生非的學生，取得政府撥款（其時沙田由前曾特首主理）成立全港首次華人少年棒球隊，成班「麻煩友」由一盤散沙不斷成長到奪得冠軍，感人得來不老土，因為改編自真人真事！
• Le Ride. 又是一部體育電影，講另一樣我十分喜歡的運動：單車；這些年來在機上播放過的單車電影我差不多全部都有選來看，包括台灣的「破風」和法國的La Grande Boucle (Tour de Force)；本片也講環法單車賽，而且是紀錄片：兩位單車友重演1928年環法（史上最艱辛之一）的路線，其中一位是來自紐西蘭的電視人Phil Keoghan，為的是追尋1928年參賽的包括紐西蘭冠軍Harry Watson的「澳紐四人組」的足跡，用的也是那個時代生產的單車，除了重，「轉波」也要靠人手下車調整單車鏈！「澳紐四人組」當時真的是前無古人：他們是首隊講英文的隊伍，過程更是困難重重：由澳洲坐船去巴黎固然花了不少時間，到埗後原本和另外六位歐洲車手合組十人隊伍的計劃又告吹。只得四人輪流帶頭這樣的隊伍不被看好有力完成整項賽事，他們不畏種種障礙包括爆胎傷病等等，三人完成了賽事（當屆共164位參賽者，最後只得41人完成）也贏得其他參賽者的尊重。

澳洲遊之電影篇(一)：La La Land

人生首次去澳洲，以前常常聽朋友說那裡距離美國很遠，坐飛機相當長途，西岸到雪梨要15小時！我買的平價機票要在紐西蘭轉機，所以最長一程「只是」12小時，和飛香港差不多，睡不著所以看了四套電影；由奧克蘭到雪梨三個多小時，竟也看了兩套電影！其中只有Office Space是「女神」Jennifer Aniston舊片重温（其實情節已完全忘記，當中的IT人心態自然繼續有共鳴）本文想講話題電影La La Land：該片主題是圍繞一個鬱鬱不得志的爵士鋼琴家Seb：滿腔熱誠的他開jazz club被騙財倒閉，在餐廰開工又被禁止演奏他醉心的正宗爵士樂（老板說no free jazz）無奈地靠著和舊相識一起玩大路「新爵士」音樂才令事業起飛。本片在電影界算叫好又叫座，不過爵士樂手及發燒友就頗有微言。看完之後我也有同感：(1)主角其實在片中作為正宗爵士鋼琴家身份的時候，例如他違反餐廳老板所謂"free jazz"禁令或在jazz club演出時，也沒有彈過多少爵士鋼琴（更遑論free jazz)，他的"theme"就一點也不爵士，全片的配樂（我之前已聽過原聲大碟）只有一條真正（但不怎出色的）爵士track，配樂這位仁兄根本就不太在行，我想演奏此配樂的一班有料爵士樂手的心情大概像為揾錢而降呢地彈奏的Seb一樣吧，認真諷刺 (2)主角以純正爵士守護者自居固然有問題（見1)，有網友對找個白人來「守護」爵士就十分反感；本片嘗試把他的（黑人）band友John Legend塑造成爵士改革者也不像樣，片中他們band玩的音樂絕對無革命性亦不會是未來爵士的取向，其實導演真有見地的話應該採用如Robert Glasper的音樂（此君有揉合R&B及爵士元素的能耐）甚至rapper Kendrick Lamar的音樂也更稱職。總之「未睇過無資格批評」，那我現在就有了。

看看NPR找來的LA爵士樂手怎樣說？

其他電影另文再寫。

電影馬拉松

近年很少去戲院的我在去年底竟然去了三次！看的包括Da Vinci Code作者Dan Brown小說改編的Inferno（前年去意大利時一直在讀）, 源於漫畫人物的Doctor Strange, 以及迪士尼破紀錄地賣坐的動畫Moana。承接這道戲癮，今年在家中試用Netflix，又看了一大堆新舊戲：

• The Magic of Belle Isle：這是一套有點超現實的電影，皆因劇中有一段老年黑人男子同中年白人女子愛情故事，發生在底特律附近一個不差的社區。不過由老戲骨Morgan Freeman飾演該男子又作別論，角色是一位才氣橫溢的作家（及前職業棒球手因傷殘轉行）女主角則是出道時以飾演「艷女」聞名的Virginia Madsen，近年也成為演技派。作家因喪妻意志消沉避世於該地，三女之母則在辦離婚中，幾個聰明伶俐又有奇想的小朋友和老人家互相啟發，總算讓人看得心頭暖暖。
• A Mile in his shoes：這也是一套勵志式電影，以飾演電視版超人聞名的Dean Cain在片中的角色是一支半職業棒球隊的領隊兼球探，在開車前往物色球員途中抛錨，意外地認識一名農村少年，該少年有自閉症但特別擅於投擲水果，領隊視他為棒球投手可造之材！在相當保護其子的父親不太情願的情況下，領隊把少年帶入球隊，其才華得到發揮，當然亦招妒中詭計，但總算在挫折中成長。
• Captain America 3 Civil War：本片的主線是Avenger成員分裂互揪，因為各國政府認為他們屢次闖禍，必須受約束，以Iron Man為首一派同意，以美國隊長為首一派則反對。這個主題在動畫及漫畫我均已看過，所以不感陌生，反而覺得真正大戰來得太遲，原來已是電影尾聲！當然埋下伏筆拍下一集了。
• Arrival：本帖多套電影中這套最為出色。女主角是一位語言學家（想起老友妹妹！）透過同外星人接觸，受他們語言影響了思考，學會預知未來的秘技。到結尾觀眾會發現全片情節並非順序發生，實在巧妙。值得一提：電影改篇自得獎科幻小說Story of your life，作者是美國華裔Ted Chiang（姜峯楠）
• Horrible bosses：片中三位波士豈止horrible，簡直就是變態！Kevin Spacey飾演一間企業高層，下屬為搏升職被「駛到盡」卻不獲公平回報；Colin Farrell飾演一間生產商的二世祖太子爺，父親是良心老闆但急病去世由他接替，他在公司胡天胡帝亂炒下屬；Jennifer Aniston飾演一個脅迫下屬和她做愛的中女牙醫。這三個組成的卡士實在有來頭，其實主角是要向他們三人報復的下屬，演員的名氣遠遜其「波士」，本片笑位頗多成績不俗，相信令三位男主角「升價」不少。
• Jaco：去年提過這套關於低音結他鬼才Jaco Pastorious的電影，將另文專述。

Jazz movies

I wrote this post 1.5 years ago and mentioned the lack of biopics about jazz giants like Coltrane and Miles. Well, it turns out new films were made or announced in 2015: one for Coltrane and one for Miles called "Miles Ahead" written, directed by and starring Don Cheadle. He looked real cool in the released photos. A lot of it was fictional though and was set against the period when Miles was near his creative low point ~50 years old. In addition, there was another recent release about the greatest electric jazz bassist ever, Jaco Pastorius, simply titled Jaco. It was made with the contribution of former Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo, who was a true fan and a sincere guy. The January issue of Bassplayer had a special feature about this project and how he got involved. It was an interesting read. (Coincidentally I re-read the part of Alex Skolnick's autobiography about how the Pastorius family was not doing well financially while fighting for the rights of Jaco's music recently. Trujillo acquired Jaco's famed bass of doom so that it could return to the family. Isn't it funny that two metal guys both had something about Jaco to talk about?)

Movie-athon Part 3

再來一帖寫寫幾套機上電影：
Friends with Benefit:上次提過兩套Cameron Diaz電影，今次介紹的女主角則是我認為可算Diaz接班人的Mila Kunis，兩者皆屬豪放型愛情喜劇女星，好像都和本片男主角Justin Timberlake拍過拖（？）Anyway,看片名也大致估到劇情，離不開好朋友由純粹上床至愛上對方的公式，賣點是兩個靚人，適合和女性朋友觀看。
Jupiter Ascending:又是Mila Kunis的電影！她飾演的主角在未出生時父親被刧匪所殺，生活一直頗為艱苦，一天突然被「外星人」追殺，原來她的DNA排列和已故「外星女皇」一樣，擁有繼承女皇領地（包括地球！）的權利；之後的發展是典型英雄救美的故事。

Ex Machina:又是一套科幻片，主題則是人工智能（我在讀書時代最有興趣的課題）故事講述一名在領導市場的互聯網公司工作的年輕軟件開發員，在云云競爭者中脫穎而出，得以參與公司老板秘密計劃，到達老板隱居之處時，老板告知其任務是測試用人工智能技術製成的靚女機械人，到底能否分辨對方是人還是機器；當然，背後有hidden agenda。靚女絕對是一大賣點。

Till Death Do Us What?:最後這套原本以為是笑片卻相當賺人熱淚。講的是一對多年互相扶持的好友，男方終於決定向女求婚，女方也接受，結婚後懷孕，卻發現女方患上末期癌症，不久去世；死後陰魂不散，依然跟隨丈夫左右，而男方為了成為作家的理想苦苦掙扎，把他和太太生前懷孕患癌期間的博客文章輯錄成書。其實不算太有娛樂性。詳情請參考影評。

Movie-athon Part 2

再寫寫近期出trip時看的幾套電影：
Kingsman:年初上畫時已有同學大力推薦；主題是人類濫用地球資源趨向滅亡，唯有清除部份人類方可扭轉乾坤（和Tomorrowland，Inferno差不多）Kingsman是一班身份超然的特工，被委以和惡勢力對抗的重任。導演可說相當嗜殺，一班國家元首爆頭的場面固然駭人，一名Kingsman殺盡教堂仝人那段直可令本片成為暴力電影cult classic。

Maestro!（台譯：尋找心樂章）:我對日本文化尤其是電影的認識可算只是冰山一角，簡介提到小提琴手吸引了我選看本片。回家後看評論才知原來是改編自漫畫，想來也頗有那種誇張的感覺；自負懷才不遇的樂師們遇上出位的指揮被後者啟發，詳情可讀此頁。主旨不外乎是玩出好音樂不能因循，要發自內心云云，個人也不覺得算甚麼大道理，反正娛樂性足夠就是了。
Sex tape:對Cameron Diaz有一份特別的感情，所以明知電影標題只是噱頭，也會落搭；故事說他們兩公婆想在小朋友大一點的時候重拾浪漫，拍了的床片意外地被sync軟件傳開了，於是千方百計地阻止，事實上本片一如Jason Segel其他愛情片，都是東拉西扯，加點自嘲，不過輕輕鬆鬆地kill time也還可以。
The Other Women:又是Cameron Diaz的電影，還加上另一位中女情片王Leslie Mann，幸好尚有新一代性感女神Kate Upton，三人皆是同一位型男的太太及情人，竟然連成一線對付花心騙子。在Virginia受訓的無聊晚上看看公司提供的Fios TV在65"電視上消磨下時間倒也無防。

待續。

Movie-athon

曾幾何時我每週起碼從電影院或有線電視看一套新電影，尤其是在Madison讀書的年代，生活很簡單，節目亦不多。到了現在，選擇實在太多，而電影又越來越長，大多兩小時或以上，很難坐定定，除非是在飛機（或郵輪）上，過去兩個月正因此看了一打電影：

Avenger the Age of Ultron:作為super hero電影擁躉，對第二集Avenger電影當然是熱切期待，上郵輪之前預計會在船上電影院播放，果然得償所願！其實早有家人告知不及第一集，因為故事有點混亂，而Hulk的感情戲亦有點格格不入，雖則如此，其打鬥場面亦算精彩。
Tomorrowland:既由George Clooney主演，故事自必然頗有深度，他飾演的角色從小就對科技十分沉迷，小時對未來世界充滿期望，長大後卻了解到人類濫用地球資源必定滅亡，因而隱居山林；片中的歹角則是催動人類加速在地球滅亡的黑手，正正式式就是散播負能量。電影唯一敗筆是起初花了太太長時間去描繪未來世界的科技如何神妙。
Big Hero 6:這是去年返培正加冕時期上映的電影，主角是一名居於三藩市和東京混合體城市的反叛少年及其兄長研發出的健康監察機械人，後者被前者改裝為一個戰士，攜手對抗壞人，故事雖簡單勝在一氣呵成。
Inside Out:這部電影首天上畫我們一家在迪士尼郵輪電影院觀看午夜場，感覺當然特別。主線是講一名青春期少女跟隨父母由明尼蘇達州搬到三藩市灣區（父親搞tech startup），適應新生活有困難，主角則是在少女腦中掌管各種情緒的多位負責「人」，各種情緒以及記憶如何交戰，大概就是科學界目前對人腦運作的認識，頗有新鮮感但故事太簡單，不免有點沉悶；不過，香港的影評人倒是一片好評。

This is Spinal Tap:在飛機上芸芸新舊電影中，竟然找了這套超舊的來看。其實這套heavy metal parody可算是經典，連爵士結他大師Pat Metheny也引用了其中金句幽了訪問者一默！主角是一隊老牌搖滾樂隊，由British invasion時代開始玩音樂，曾經紅極一時，也經歷過成員反目，其實是很多樂隊的寫照。Pat Metheny被訪時提到Bb minor是最哀傷的調，其實是模仿Spinal Tap的結他手在片中指D minor是最哀傷的調:)
Gone girl:本片是近期看過最好的電影！可能因為原著（未讀過）的故事寫得太好吧。不想劇透太多，總之是講一對金童玉女夫妻中的太太失蹤，揭開了背後種種秘密。
請留意本帖下集。

Acceptance speech for Oscar's Best Original Song

... and the Oscar's went to the track "Glory" from the movie "Selma" Next? Controversy!

(Source: watch the video at Time.com)

In his acceptance speech, Common linked the civil rights movement to similar movements in France and Hong Kong. “The spirit of this bridge connects the kid from the South Side of Chicago, dreaming of a better life, to those in France standing up for their freedom of expression, to those in Hong Kong, protesting for democracy,” he said. “This bridge was built on hope, welded with compassion and elevated with love for all human beings.”

John Legend got more explicitly political in his speech. “We say that Selma is now, because the struggle for justice is right now,” he said. “We know that the Voting Rights Act that they fought for 50 years ago is being compromised right now in this country today. We know that right now, the struggle for freedom and justice is real. We live in the most incarcerated country in the world. There are more black men under correctional control today then were under slavery in 1850.”

Well, by supporting Hong Kong's democracy movement from last year, Common has pissed off a lot of pro-establishment folks in HK and China.

And John Legend got his share of criticism too. His stat regarding jailed men was correct in terms of absolute number but he should have compared the percentage of population instead.

The Movie Post

As usual, I have a lots of movies to write about after watching them on the long US-HK round trip. This time I watched:

- Lucy: obviously Scarlett Johansson was the draw for this one. They didn't even try to make her look pretty in this but it doesn't matter. The sci-fi story is good enough. Most of the special effects were done well to show her special power after the drug accidentally got into her body which forced her brain to develop to an unprecedented level. 

- Captain America 2: This is another movie with Johansson, who is even more attractive as the Black Widow here. I am a sucker for super-hero movies and enjoyed the first Captain America movie quite a bit (I liked the part about using the Captain as a propaganda machine) It's mostly predictable: the people with the most political power being the too-ambitious bad guy. The heroes had to fall from the grace before their triumphal return. Still, it's entertaining.

- Hercules: This is yet another movie with ties to comics, as well as Greek Mythology. Actually, it's more about de-mythicize the legends of Hercules: he didn't fight alone and the monsters he defeated were actually human foes. The centaurs he battled were actually cavalry. Again, it's kinda predictable like Captain America in the sense that the ones who were supposed to be good guys turned out to be bad guys.

- Million dollar arms: Sports movie is another of my favorite genre. This movie is about a once powerful US sports agent needed new blood to revive his career and decided to harvest talent from India, where there's a huge population of cricket players, whose bowling motion is kinda similar to pitching in baseball. He organized contests over there and the big prize money eventually attracted players with potentials. He brought them to US for more training and try out with MLB. I am not gonna give out the ending here. What I like about the movie is how relationship between people are portrayed: e.g., mentors and the students, family members, agent and the players he brought into this foreign country.  

- Draft day: a movie about American football is of course a must-see for me! And this is familiar territories for Kevin Costner, who has starred in a baseball movie before. He played the role of Cleveland Browns' GM in this movie. The plot is about how he handled the NFL draft: trading picks with other teams and evaluating talents. It's also about how he dealt with the existing players, his mom, his girlfriend, the owner and the head coach who didn't necessarily agree with his decisions. 

- 分手100次: 老實說我不像是會看港產愛情片的人，但我的確看了不少，尤其是坐飛機時，以及由鄭伊健主演的，以前有百分百感覺，近年有我老婆唔夠秤，我老公唔生性，還有本片。男主角伊健飾演一個kidult，女主角周秀娜（性感女神，片中不乏吊帶熱褲等養眼鏡頭）飾演對伊健照顧無微不至的女友，但常常會用分手威脅對方。雖然劇情頗有犯駁（伊健錢從何處來？），但相當成功帶出戀愛關係的無奈：必須包容對方缺點。這個網誌詳細介紹了本片，大家可以參考下。

And there were 2 movies from 2012 that I didn't get a chance to write about:

- Rock of ages: this is the big-screen version of an 80s hair metal themed musical (that's why everything is sung in the movie.) Fans of the genre would immediately recognize this as the name of a big hit from 80s hair band Def Leppard, even though the song itself wasn't used in the movie. The whole movie is pretty much an elaborated version of an 80s metal MV: a girl chasing her dream to Hollywood and had to struggle (working as a stripper to survive) Of course that's not enough for a 120 min musical/movie so a struggling male character was added (a rocker who had to join a boy band to get signed) The writer also threw in a larger-than-life primadonna (played by Tom Cruise) Don't get me wrong though 'coz I enjoyed the movie a lot, as an 80s hair metal fan myself. Each actor/actress actually sang their own parts. I'm surprised that Tom Cruise could rock! He has definitely earned more respect from me after this.  

- Batman Dark Knight Rises: this movie got famous for the wrong reason: a gunman opened fire at a movie theater on its premiere night :( I have never been a big fan of the Batman movie "franchise" so I've watched only a few (the "classic" one by Tim Burton came to my mind) This one is definitely better than expected. Again, the story is a typical super-hero one: Bruce Wayne was beaten and locked up and eventually escaped and revenged. The ending really got people talking: did he really sacrifice himself to save the city? Well, it can be interpreted in many different ways.

Beethoven and movies

I was chatting with some friends on the topic of learning more about great artists/musicians.  My answer is simple: movies!

For Beethoven, it's easy: Immortal Beloved is critically acclaimed. The radio station WQXR actually came up with a list of Top 5 Beethoven (the composer, not the dog) centric movies.

For Jimi Hendrix, just wait til this September when "Jimi: All Is by My Side" comes out.

For Frida, obviously there is "Frida" starring Salma Hayek.

While researching this, I am surprised there's no biopic made for jazz giants like Miles and Coltrane! Well, you could always come talk to yours truly.

Movie time

We had a vacation last week. And it's time to do something I don't usually do: watching movies (6 on the flight, 1 off the flight!) I'll talk about them in the order of my preference:
1) La Grande Boucle (Tour de Force)
The movie is about an amateur cyclist started his personal Tour de France after losing his job and wife. Basically he rode one day ahead of each stage of the "real" tour. Lots of interesting things happened during his tour. I don't wanna spill the beans here 'coz I think every cyclist should watch it. Here is a review with more details about the movie.

2) Rush
I am a huge fan of auto racing but I gotta admit I'm rather disappointed with the current state of Formula 1: there is one far superior car in the field which either qualified for the pole and lead from start to finish or simply make one less pit stop. Having one car winning half of the races and cruising to the championship every year ruins it! I remember it used to be more competitive when I was a kid. Well, I was too young to know anything about the 1976 season described in the movie Rush, which is even more dramatic than anything I could remember: Austrian Niki Lauda was the defending champ. British James Hunt was the flamboyant driver hoping to unseat the champ. His aggressiveness caused him a few races and points in the standing. However, Lauda was injured (seriously burnt) in an accident during the Grand Prix of Nürburgring. He missed the next few races during which James Hunt was closing the point gap quickly. Lauda decided to came back earlier than recommended by his doctor to defend his title. And it all came down to the last race of the season. Fast forwarding ~40 years, 2008 was the last time F1 championship being decided by the last race of the season. Regarding the movie itself, the actors did a great job portraying these larger-than-life characters. And the gf/wives were pretty! There's nothing not to like about the movie.

3) The Lego Movie
Lego sets were toys I played the most when I was a kid (I still play because of my son) So, when the movie came out, it's a must-watch for me. There were sets that I built according to the instructions and never broke apart while other sets were mixed to create something brand new. And these are the themes of the movie: the "dictator" (dad) wanted the former while his kid wanted the latter. Don't we have the same conflicts in the grander scheme of thing too? THE man in the real world do want people to watch the same kind of dumb TV drama/sitcom over and over (e.g. the HK government encourages CCTVB to monopolize the market by trying to eliminate upstart competitors like HKTV) The title of that "theme" song, Everything is Awesome, is so ironic too.

BTW, we watched the Cantonese version (no subtitle) and worried the kids might not be able to understand but so glad they did. And it was so funny when the movie made fun of people drinking expensive coffee sitting next to my sister who does the same :P

4) Thor 2
I would not have admitted watching mainstream blockbuster like this when I was younger :P The comic book-based genre actually has a pretty good reputation among movie critics. Case in point: movies from the Batman franchise were usually quite deep. It seems that I watch at least one movie based on a Marvel comic every time I fly these days: Captain America, G.I.Joe, Wolverine, and this time, Thor 2. Natalie Portman looked gorgeous in it, especially in Asgardian costumes (all handmade by a craftsman in the workshop in London!) And the actor who played Thor was the same guy who played James Hunt from 'Rush.' Man, he was everywhere, just like a real superhero. And the action scenes seem more exciting than the first Thor movie, in which the bad guy was too easy to beat. The plot was also a bit more complicated with Thor needing Loki's help to fight the enemies. 

5) Last Vegas
This belongs to the "old man movie" genre in my book. Oh well, I watch those once in a while too (For example, the Oscar nominated "Crazy Heart".) Very simple story here: 4 old guys going to Vegas for an old friend's bachelor's party. Of course there were lots of history between them. And the old friends got involved in a love triangle. Man, I could totally see this happen to my friends in 30 years :P

6) Escape Plan
Just realized this movie was the first pairing of Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger in leading roles. I thought there were prior cases. Regardless, 2 things for sure: (1) this gotta be my type of movie, (2) reviewers would diss it because the guys have passed their prime. Well, there were indeed a lot of cliches: A prison security expert (Stallone) was wrongfully put in a maximum security prison, which operated so secretly that no law applied there. Needed help from a fellow prisoner (Schwarzenegger) to break out. I found it very enjoyable.

7) The Expendable
I watched the Expendable 2 on DVD recently. It's another movie with both Stallone and Schwarzenegger (and a whole bunch of action starts like Jet Li, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Chuck Norris and Randy Couture. Stallone was the main character though) Very straight-forward story (good guys and bad guys fight for info about material for weapons. Bad guys won and tried to obtain the material. Good guys went prevent that to happen) and old school actions. That means I liked it. Usually the original movie would be better than the sequel so I watched this on the plane. This was an exception: it was rather boring and certainly worse than the sequel. The story has something to do with the American wanna take out a dictator ruling some sort of island. I didn't really watch it except for the "blow'em up" scenes. 

I guess I won't have another movie-watching-spree for a while.