RIFLE RANGE BOY

The Conclave (2024) Director: Edward Berger https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/p/conclave/8d6kgwz2d5gg The selection of a new Pope, the head of the Roman Catholic Church, has always fascinated everyone, both Christians and non-Christians. It is not merely that they wait with bated breath to learn who the next de facto leader of the largest religion will be, but rather the actual process of selecting the next Pope, which has been shrouded in considerable mystery and secrecy. This enigma has been a source of numerous conspiracy theories and the theme of many best-selling novels over the years.   Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons offer readers a ringside view of the setup and day-to-day operations within the papal residence and workplace, the Vatican Palace, and the Holy See. This renders it even more intriguing that Vatican City remains in contention as the wealthiest nation by area, alongside Jersey (a British Crown Dependency), Monaco, and Luxembourg, depending on ho...

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...

Man On The Run ( Documentary, Netflix;  2023) Director:   Cassius Michael Kim We all know the drill. We have heard it all before. The Government started a novel project selling government bonds to buy oil fields in Central Asia. With the returns, the Government, via its subsidiary, 1MDB, would pour money into the country, which would help improve the living conditions of its citizens. The trouble was that the same who applied for the money from the Government approved the loan, executed the loan, received the loan and received the returns were all the same person. Najib Razak is the 1MDB Chairman, Minister of Finance and the honourable Prime Minister of Malaysia. And there were no oilfields that were bought. Still, the whole exercise saw many people making loads of money, enjoying obscenely decadent parties, and the Malaysian taxpayers paying exorbitant amounts of money as interest to international players. Even though the local journalists kept crying foul and were brave to p...

Harry & Meghan (Documentary; 2022) Netflix Watching this 6-episode documentary about the life and times of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle during their short stint living as a couple in the royal household reminded me of two things. Firstly of skeets from 'Kumars at No. 42' where they sold the idea that everything in this world was Indian - be it Santa Claus, Jesus, Santa's reindeer and even the British royal family. Father Kumar theorised that the royal family were as Indian as Indians can be. The whole family, including adult children, live with their parents. Everyone is involved in the same family business. Even after marriages, they all lived under the same roof, and the weddings were arranged. These veiled comparisons got its audiences in stitches then.  The second is the good old saying from Indian culture that when one marries another, they also marry the family. The newcomer into the family must immerse into the fabric of the family and act as one of them. The o...

Anatomy of a Scandal (2022) Netflix, Miniseries. There are essentially three types of truths (or secrets if the situation arises). The first is the one which is common knowledge that is no secret. It is the one you do not mind sharing with the rest of the world. Information on your background, ethnicity, place of childhood and education background will encompass this category. With the easy availability of personal data online, the demarcation between private information and the public domain becomes increasingly blurred. In the second category, it could include something done not at the proudest moment. This truth may be only shared amongst individuals who would not spill the beans no matter what. There is some kind of unwritten rule - bro code, tribal honour, mafia or gang loyalty and business secret - which will fall into the category. God forbid, access to these truths by individuals with ill-intent would be disastrous and make someone fall from grace. However, every type of secret...