RIFLE RANGE BOY

My body and mind went overdrive as things typically do while partaking in one of those age-defying mindless Sunday morning recreational run-cycle-run combo of Powerman Malaysia 2023 Edition. Staying mindful of the traffic flow of fellow madmen, the condition of the roads, my heart rate, race timing, the remaining distance to cover and gears, I had my hands figuratively full on top of everything else I was doing. Behind it all, buffering silently in the background, basking in the inebriation of all sanguineous perfusion of flurry vascular tributaries is the creative part of the brain. It wants to keep up with the rest of the body. It, too, tries its hand at neuroplasticity. It sprouts out dendrites to establish long-lost connexions. And it engages in its internal soliloquy. I just happened to be there eavesdropping the murmur.  Life is a battlefield. In modern times, the enemies we are supposed to fight are no longer the co-creations created in His image but the one in the mirror. T...

Nomadland (2020) Director, Screenplay, Co-producer: Chloè Zhao Maybe we never forgot our roots. Even though we decided to become farmers, stay put in one place and hope to gain strength through numbers (i.e. living in communities), we simply could not shake off our desires to wander and be close to Nature. As cavemen and hunter-gatherers, we were doing the same thing. We were awed by the things around us. We wanted to experience them and to know all about the fantastic things that we saw and felt. Who built them? When were these made?  Like an excited child, we yearned for answers. And we are still doing them today.  At one time, we were told it is what it is. Do not ask too many questions of which answers you will not understand. It is beyond your comprehension, they would say. Nah, read these scriptures; everything is there. With science, it appears that this mindset is changing. People started asking questions and more question. Apparently, there were more questions than an...

Minari ('Water Celery' American-Korean, English; 2021) Written and Directed: Lee Isaac Chung Most immigrants stories harbour melodrama which relies so heavily on wanting to play the victim card. They often portray their hosts as dysfunctional and that the pathetic immigrants are bullied and blamed for things that are no fault of theirs. Well, this one is different. They left their motherland because it was too complicated there. Life in their newfound land is no leisure cruise either, they soon discover. Spending hours looking at chicken backside for the onerous task of chicken sexing is not cerebrally stimulating, but it pays the bill. When Jacob decides to move from California to the Ozark Land (Arkansas) for farming, his wife, Monica, thinks he is bonkers. With a young teenage girl to groom and a 'hole in the heart' stricken tween boy who needs regular medical attention, Monica is sceptical of the whole endeavour's success. Maternal Grandma, Soonja, is summoned f...

Harold and Maude (1971) Some look at life as full of doom and gloom, as a purposeless one. Whichever path one takes, we know what the final destination is, and the path leading to it can be paved with shrapnel and pain. Nietzschean and many existentialist philosophers perpetuate this idea. On the other end of the spectrum, others whose sole purpose of life is to savour the joy of being born as a human being push it to the tilt. They view the boon of birth as a gift on a platter to enjoy with no boundaries. The truth must be lying somewhere in between - between nihilism and hedonism. There must be a purpose in our existence, perhaps to somehow leave a tiny mark of legacy, no matter how small, in a small way to propel our loved ones, family or community forward. A community, hence a country, is, after all, is made of subunits of families. So, improvements in families will sequentially propel the human race forward.  We should probably  get our cues about life from the words of t...

Aelay (ஏலே! Hey You! Tamil; 2021) We always complain that our fathers are not expressive enough, that they are not touchy enough. We allege that they are relatively economical with their display of affection. We despise their approach to solving problems. We say they are too laid back, sometimes also detached.  In our minds, our fathers exhibit all the traits of how a father should not be. We resolve to be just the opposite of what they were. We spend a great deal of our adulthood not seeing eye- to-eye with our fathers.  We tell ourselves we will not be like him when we grow older. Slowly, with the lessons learnt from the School of Hard Knock and Life, we soon realise that he managed, with and despite his knowledge and experience, to hold the fort for others to prosper. In the traditional sense, he looked at himself as a material provider. As for their deeds and misdeeds that he has under his belt, they cannot be held against as he did with his family's best interest at ...

City Of God (Malayalam, 2011) Director: Lilo Jose Pullissery  This film may mean different things to different people. Some may look at characters from four stories getting intertwined in the course of their lives. The storyteller tells the story in flashbacks and hyperlinks that finally paint a composite picture. Basically, it can be divided into two main stories; one involving an immigrant Tamil unskilled workers in Kochin and their daily dealings, the other related to a group of rich and famous concerning an up and coming actress, her entourage and a tiff with a particular developer over a piece of land.  When we look closely, both parties are no different from each other; they consume alcohol, indulge in carnal pleasures putting aside social mores, and are involved in criminal activities. The affluent side somehow can do their unkosher pursuits without invoking too much fanfare with their affluence. Somehow the wheel of justice and enforcement can be wrapped around their f...

Oh, dear, oh, dear! First, there were the vultures , perched high up on the branch waiting patiently for their preys to fall. Their spirits rise with every heaving of the chest, hoping that that would be the last. Is the soul protected by the soaring eagles seen way up in the skies? Even as the body is failing, the spirit is clinging and refuses to go. Even as the remains remain warm, White Rabbit is already scurrying around, muttering, "Oh dear, oh dear. I'm late for an important date!" peeking at the watch ever so often. The Mad Hatter is not needed, but he likes to think that he is indispensable. Are the hyenas'  scream decibels too loud for comfort? Mourners want a time of peace to reflect, not hear noises that evoke madness. Minesweeper Then came the owls with their eyes opened so vast that they scrutinise every shortcoming and scrouge source material for their next gossip session. With stereoscopic vision and 360° movement of the cervical region, they manage ...

My Octopus Teacher (Documentary, 2020) Netflix During my childhood, one of the highlights was watching Jacques Cousteau's documentary on ocean exploration aboard his research vessel, Calypso. Week after week, he would have different ocean regions to showcase a kaleidoscopic kingdom hidden beneath sea level. Funny, it appeared so picturesque even though we viewed them on a rackety black-and-white television! I knew then that Costeau was the pioneer in ocean exploration and is also credited for modernising the scuba gear. It was amazing how much time he spent looking at marine life and narrating them. 'My Octopus Teacher' reminds me of Costaeu's film, just that this time around, it is displayed in 4K ultra-high-resolution display and excellent sound systems. The cinematography is to die for, and the presentation opens up the mind to look at lower lifeforms with respect.  The narrator, a burnt-out filmmaker, Craig Foster, retreats to his childhood home in Cape Town for som...