RIFLE RANGE BOY

The Goldfinger (Cantonese; 2023) Director: Felix Chong This film excited me for three reasons. First, the screenplay was written by the same guy who wrote the smash series Infernal Affairs, which later spurred Martin Scorsese's The Departed. Second, my favourite Cantonese stars, Andy Lau and Tony Leong, are in it. Finally, a Malaysian angle is somehow intertwined in the whole imbroglio. The movie is based on the rise and fall of the Singaporean (Sarawak-born) rag-to-riches speculator George Tan and his Carrian group of businesses. One July morning in 1983, Malaysians were shocked to read about a banker's body that was found in a banana plantation in the New Territory of Hong Kong (HK). From the 10-sen Malaysian coin that was found in the pants pocket, the police managed to determine that he could be Malaysian. They finally discovered that he was Jalil Ibrahim , a Malaysian auditor sent from the Bank Bumiputra Headquarters in Kuala Lumpur to look into some discrepancies in loans...

No disrespect is intended for the believers, but these could be cautionary tales for others. Recently, a close relative told me that he had made an appointment to meet a holy man at the unusual hour of 3 a.m. It may appear unearthly to some, but to others, it is referred to as ' Brahmamuhurtham '*, one of the most auspicious times of the day. The holy man wanted to dispel him of some negative energies. Quickly, my mind wandered to the story of P. Rajagopal, the founder of the world-famous chain of South Indian vegetarian restaurants, Saravana Bhava. A classic tale of how capitalism breeds entrepreneurship and how trickle-down economics works is his life story. Starting off as the son of a poor onion farmer, he ran away from home to work as a chaiwala . He later became a sundry shop owner but was restless. Being the pious person he was (he named his shop after Lord Muruga), he consulted a priest-astrologer about his future. By then, he was married to Vani, his first wife. The a...

Holdovers (2023) Director: Alexander Payne This one comes close to being a feel-good Christmas spirit movie in the vein of 'It's a Wonderful Life' (1946), 'Miracle at 34th Street' (1947), and 'Diehard!' (1988). Maybe not 'Diehard' for its destruction and violence that happens around X'Mas. When everything looks hopeless, and there is no reason to be merry, one can be a Scrooge, making life a living hell for people or, alternatively, try to at least a little bit better for others. After all, that is how life has been for aeons. Life, with its ups and downs throughout our civilisation, only makes one's life more colourful. Despite all the maladies and tragedy, we still come out unscathed, dusting the dirt off our backs and moving forward to face another challenge. That that does not kill us makes us stronger. The sombre settings around Christmas make the soul go pensive. Tradition has made one long for lost relatives and reminisce about a caref...

Communism, Hypnotism and the Beatles (1965) Rev. David A. Noebel An Analysis of the Communist use of music - the Communist Master Plan. This book predates John Lennon's infamous press statement in 1966, in which he was quoted as saying that the Beatles were , at that time, 'more popular than Jesus'. To his defence, the baby boomers were, in fact, losing interest in what the church had to say.  In 1956, during a visit to Poland, Nikita Khrushchev was thought to have told the West that he would 'bury them'. Some say it was something that came out after being lost in translation. Again, during his state visit to the US, he may have said (again disputed) that he predicted the adoption of communism and the gradual creation of a 'socialist stare' in the US.  David Noebel is said to be a fiery Christian evangelist who argues his claims with dubious scientific evidence. In this booklet, he used many Pavlovian animal behavioural study models to convince his congregat...

Lately, many have asked, 'What was he/she/they thinking? ' I do not believe they are expecting an answer from me. Perhaps they expect me to nod, quietly agree or squeak out some filler words like hmm..., not to react, disagree or object. "What was he thinking? He had such a nice family, wife and beautiful kids. And gave up all that for a young chick?" "He had everything going here. But that was not good enough. He had to sell off everything and root himself in a foreign land. Look at him now. What was he thinking?" "In school, my best friend gave me a bar of soap. A bar of soap! Can you imagine? What was she even thinking of? ...that I stink?"  It is not our business to judge others. We are only in a position to tell if we walk a mile in their shoes. Everything they do must have been debated internally with some soul-searching and introspection before making decisions. All the dos and don'ts must have been viewed from all angles, especially whe...

3 Body Problem (Miniseries; Season 1, 8 episodes ) Adapted from the Hugo Award-winning novel by Liu Cixin There is an episode in the original Twilight Zone series titled "Where is Everybody?" in which a person wanders around a township with no soul in sight. Enveloped in 'The Great Silence,' he runs around like a headless chicken, looking for any sign of life. That must surely be a veiled reference to Fermi's paradox. With so much wasted space around us and after so many years of searching, why can't we contact any lifeform elsewhere in this widespread Universe? With time, the possibility of the presence of more and more solar systems is being suggested. Surely, someone somewhere must have picked up our radio signals by now. What if they are advanced enough to pick up gestures of friendship. Or maybe they have already made visitations before if one believes the ideas mooted by Erich von Däniken about ancient aliens. Conversely, if a civilisation is indeed more...

Have I Got Something To Tell You Author: Malachi Edwin Vethamani Listen Do you want to know a secret? Do you promise not to tell? Whoa, oh, oh Closer Let me whisper in your ear Say the words you long to hear I'm in love with you Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh ooh… Not too long ago, that was how it used to be. Now it is 'on your face'. Personal liberty, self-expression, and space availability have led to this. We didn't start the fire; it was always burning… just that it has found mainstream.  Take the movies  South Pacific  and Ben Hur , which were made around the late 1950s. Movie connoisseurs would agree that those films had many not-so-subtle references to homoerotism. Nobody raised a red flag then, even though the American Motion Pictures Production Code (Hays Code) was quite clear about its guidelines regarding romance, gay issues, exposure of flesh and cleavage. The filmmakers tried to make South Pacific  a feel-good war movie. Aside from the lush jungles, sunsets and beaches...