The Mystical Belief

From Dostoevsky's "The Brother's Karamazov", in which the lawyer Fetyukovich remarks:

"...there is another concept of fatherhood, and, according to that interpretation, a father may be a monster who treats his children viciously, but who must nevertheless always be respected as a father, because he has conceived his children. But that is a mystical attitude that my reason does not understand, that I can only accept on faith, so to speak, just as we are asked to accept many things that we do not understand, but that our religion orders us to believe.

Well, let the son face his father and ask him: 'Tell me, why should I love you? Prove to me that it is my duty to love you.' If the father gives manages to give him a satisfactory answer, it is a normal family, a family not based on some mystical prejudice, but founded on reasonable, responsible, and strictly humane premises. But if, on the other hand, the father fails to prove to his son that he is worthy of love, he does not deserve to be his father and the son is free to consider his father as a stranger or even his enemy."

Of course, this extends to mothers as well, and you have no idea how many people hold to this "mystical" concept. I still do hold to it in a certain form, but this is something worth thinking upon.

I Am Legend

We are already inundated as it is with vampire/monster/zombie shows already this year (28 Weeks Later, 30 Days of Night etc.) and out comes I Am Legend, the "biggest", apparently (with roughly the same budget of Transformers).

But seriously, it ain't that big. All that nifty special effects of an empty New York doesn't work that well. Heck, even 28 Days Later, filmed on a menial budget, had more atmospheric "empty city" scenes.

The creature designs don't work either. The CGI is unconvincing and ineffective. They don't feel like monsters or humans or anything in between.

Of course, it has its moments. Will Smith, the actor that he is, does a good solo job (actually, he does have a decent supporting actor as well). And yes, the plot does leave one a little intrigued. But there is still a feeling of been there, done that. And when two other characters are introduced, so also are a few rather random and puzzling elements.

Add all that together, and you have a massively underwhelming movie. And considering its budget and production firepower, it is a disappointment indeed.

The Golden Compass

Somewhere between the graceful heights of the Lord of the Rings and the mucky low of Eragon, lies The Golden Compass. To be more precise, it leans more towards gracefulness, but it certainly is not that great. But oh my, am I comparing movies here?

Perhaps so. Since a particular trilogy set the benchmark, movies have struggled to meet that standard. That's a little sad, since movies like The Golden Compass (based on Pullman's Northern Lights book) are mighty entertaining and a whole lot of fun to watch. Nonetheless, it still is very much flawed. And despite all the glitz, overall it could still do with a lot of polishing.

Everything is here: big-budget special effects, lavish sets, characters with British accents and uh, Gandalf. His voice, at least. But does it work? Not really. The movie itself is told rather jerkily: we are treated with one scene and then dragged onto the next, with no smooth transition whatsoever (this is my feeling, of course). When movie jargon is explained, its explained to us as in a lecture, like a dictionary definiton. Mechanical. (Unlike, say the Lord of the Rings, where terms where thrown around so nonchalantly that we accepted it just like that)

The ending is well, not an ending. Clearly we are to expect a sequel. The problem is, if this movie bombs then, uh, we will probably never see one. But it looks good and is entertaining enough for people to want to go. In fact, they ought to go watch it. It's one of the better fantasy movies out there. And to be frank, there aren't many "good" fantasy movies.

On a side note, a few of my (Christian) friends have called for a boycott of the movie. Too bad; I doubt if they have even read the book or seen the movie. I haven't read the books myself, but from the movie one can see that only Roman Catholics get some bashing here. That I don't mind. :P

Creeping Intelligence

Sometimes, it hits me how far I've come since I was, well, young. I was rather clueless only a few years back about most things, science, our country and anything else for that matter. Yes, I suppose reading did that. I read and read. Slowly but surely, I grew smarter. But I'm not sure if I'm any wiser.

On other matters, I'm writing another series of short stories. If you ever read them, you'd notice how unoriginal I have become. Of course, that comes with the territory; I'm experimenting. Learning's a process, lalalala.

Back, from a trip.

It was a strange one indeed. Some enjoyed it, others didn't really. Yep, our trip to Taiping and Bukit Larut (aka Maxwell Hill 2), was a mixed bag. It had its moments (really, it did), and from my perspective at least, it was great fun.

I'll let the pictures do the talking. (Okay, with some captions)

On the train.

Where we slept for one night.

Looking for food...

Food!!!

Up the hill...

The people, minus me, the cameraman.

Our accommodation. Looks rather...

Right at the peak. Notice anything (a few things, actually)? :P

Inside the bungalow. It's really old, despite a recent face lift.

How we occupy our time.

Heading down, going home...

And on the way down...

Waiting for the train.

Home!

And a short clip from an incomplete video log. I actually forgot about taking more clips. But oh well, this shall suffice.