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"When the Peony blooms, she stands tall. Does she mean no or yes?" - Chow Mo Wan

Almost Famous
Kate Hudson has a glow that came from her mother. And. Like her mother, I think her beauty will continue on even though the years have gone by. An everlasting beauty. I have seen her in quite a few movies and honestly, this is one of the better ones that I like. All she ever does lately are chick flicks. Same old story. One point or another, she will have a crying scene or two. One point or another, she will have those moments where she gets to look over her shoulder and. Smile. Her smile. Boy meets girl. Girl plays hard to get. Girl gets hurt. Boy kisses girl. They live happily ever after. I think it is all just going to waste like that. We still see her cry in Almost Famous. We still see her dazzling smiles too. But. There is something more than some cheesy love story. I would like to believe she is more than that.

2046
Contemporary Chinese movies have a habit of being artsy fartsy. Gone were the days of martial arts in bamboo forests and pointless Chinese New Year comedies. Now. There are fancy cinematographies. There are depressive characters. There are fucking scenes. But. For Pete's sakes, they have to work on the kissing scenes. Chow Mo Wan (by Tony Leung) seems to be sucking the fucking life out of the girls he kisses. Growing up watching too many Canto series and movies, I have seen vast changes. However, maybe it is in the contract or something that the actors should never kiss with their mouths opened and tongues showing.

I would say 2046 is a pretty decent movie. Confusing at some point because it is not really in chronological order. I mean. There is. But in between that things just go back in time or go forth in time. It gets quite long winded. And Chow's relationship with Bai Ling (by Zhang ZiYi) is a bit unnecessary, but all the same crucial. Everything does not really mean much until nearing the end. When things are finally revealed little by little and Chow's true characteristics are shown. I guess watching these artsy fartsy movies, you need patience and belief that something good is going to come soon. You probably need the intelligence too to figure out what is up. And for 2046, I think it is quite worth the wait.

The Shawshank Redemption
The truth is, we are all living a life of prison. We are "instituitionalised" in the places that we are forced into. Everyday, we look for this thing called hope. Sometimes we would find it, acknowledge it and pray that it stays. Sometimes we would miss it and only realise its presence when it is too too late. We are but inmates in prison. Waiting for approval of release after decades of jail term. Waiting for time to pass whilst being careful not to go insane of the mundane. Waiting for something good to happen from the actions you take to change this mundane life. Waiting for the right time to break free. Waiting. And. Hoping. "Hope is a good thing. And no good thing ever dies."

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