金枝欲孽(warning: spoilers ahead)

“金枝欲孽”终于落幕了。结局很悲情，死亡未必痛苦，活著未必幸福。明白为何这么多人看完了剧集后，沉重心情久久不能平复。

虽然每个人都在害别人，不过都是因为太爱另一个人，甚至有些到了盲目爱慕的地步。尔淳和玉莹是孝顺父母、如妃是关切女儿、安茜是为奶奶报仇、小禄子和孙大人和陈爽是因为狂恋一个女人。最后谁是真正关心皇上的？我相信就是那位丧心病狂的皇后。

为什么“金枝欲孽”那么引人入胜？因为我相信每个人都有劣性。我们和剧中人的相似处比我们想像得多。

做 了一个趣味测验，测试自己最像剧中的哪个妃嫔。结果我像的竟是尔淳。一直不太喜爱尔淳，因为她很阴沉，又不笑。不过到了故事的结尾，不禁觉得她很可伶。 被义父利用、亲姐姐在没告知身份就死去、怀了不爱的男人的小孩、无家可归、无依无靠，确实挺惨。难忘她知道安茜将死之后的反应。善于尔虞吾诈的尔淳变成了 一个无助的小孩。她求安茜活著，以后好她做什么都行。

弟弟诧异为什么平时斗个你死我活的人最后竟一个个关心彼此的死活。也许这是人的天性吧。在陌生人与同校或同公司但不熟的人，人都是会自然的想要接近和自己有些关联的人。

究竟我有多像尔淳，我想多少是有像的。至少不是像那个阴晴不定、沉不住气的玉莹。

Terrible Chinese New Year Ahead

The coming multiple CNY holiday is going to be a dread for me. Firstly, we have very few people to visit. Mt great grandma died some time ago, so the extended family is not celebrating CNY in memory of her death. Secondly I'm going to have to see my aunts (on my paternal side) whom I will dislike till the end of time cos of the ingratitude they showed us a few years ago. Then, my foreign relatives are coming to visit. A whole lot of them - from HK and China. That means my parents are going to spend time taking them around. That also means my siblings and I have been relegated to guard the house. I can't imagine what kind of joy I could derive from that. Some people should have the common sense to know that CNY is not a good time to come holidaying in Singapore, and expecting us to bring them around. My parents being the kind (and sometimes too kind for their good) people that they are will definitely want to attend to them, thus inconveniencing the entire family. Their pleasure at our expense. Boy, do I hate rude people.

Maybe I will invite friends over to my house. Provided they are having as boring a time as I am this holidays. For their sake, I hope not.

Oscar Predictions 2006

I can't rem when I started being attracted to the Oscars and making a point to follow it religiously. This year, I have vested interest cos one of my fave movies, "Little Miss Sunshine" is in the running for the big prize - Best Picture (BP). I've not seen most of the movies this season, but I'm going to make my predix for the Big 8 anyway. Just for fun. *denotes my prediction.

Best Adapted Screenplay

“Borat”
“Children of Men”
“The Departed”*
“Little Children”
“Notes on a Scandal”

Predix: It's highly likely that "The Departed" will prevail, just cos it's the only one in the running for BP. BP winners usually get an accompanying screenplay award. However, I (and most of Asia) don't think it surpasses "Infernal Affairs". But we are not part of AMPAS, so it doesn't matter. The spoiler could be "Borat" because it's different and challenges convention. If "Borat" wins, I think it's the first film without a screenplay to achieve this accolade."Children of Men" seems likely too, and has been gaining momentum I hear.

Best Original Screenplay

“Babel”
“Letters from Iwo Jima”
“Little Miss Sunshine” *
“Pan's Labyrinth”
“The Queen”

Predix: Critics are torn between "The Queen" and "LMS". Either is likely. Once again, the one who wins will have the better shot at BP. My guess is LMS, cos the writing is the essence of the movie in this case. So, why not award a writer, Michael Arnt, who struggled on his first screenplay for 5 years due to financial difficulties, got fired off by the studio cos he's not A-list enough, only to be asked back cos the studio finally realised that he's good and irreplacable. Everyone loves an underdog!

Best Director

Alejandro González Iñárritu“Babel”
Martin Scorsese* “The Departed”
Clint Eastwood “Letters from Iwo Jima”
Stephen Frears “The Queen”
Paul Greengrass “United 93”

Predix: Everyone think it's Marty's year. I think so too. Not cos he's the best in the list, but because he is due. If he loses to Eastwood again, I think he will cry in the toilet. The moral of the story - give people the oscar when they deserve it, regardless of age, experience, etc. Marty deserved the oscar in his heyday when he did 'Raging Bull", "Taxi Driver", but somehow he got booted by someone senior cos he wasn't due yet. Now it's his turn to boot other worthy people off. And so the cycle continues.

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

Alan Arkin *“Little Miss Sunshine”
Jackie Earle Haley“Little Children”
Djimon Hounsou“Blood Diamond”
Eddie Murphy“Dreamgirls”
Mark Wahlberg“The Departed”

Predix: Current frontrunner is Murphy but I think Arkin could cause an upset due to popularity of LMS, though he's not the best in his film (Steve Carrell is, in my opinion). If there is a surprise element, which there usually is, in every Oscar, it has to be this category. Haley I hear is superb in his film but his win rests on the conservative mindsets of AMPAS. Will they honour someone for the role for a sex offender?

Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Adriana Barraza“Babel”
Cate Blanchett“Notes on a Scandal”
Abigail Breslin“Little Miss Sunshine”
Jennifer Hudson *“Dreamgirls”
Rinko Kikuchi“Babel”

Predix: This is the category which is most pro-newcomer and pro-children. Ex winners include people in their film debuts and a 10 year-old. Hudson has garnered the most precursor support and it is likely to remain this way. Breslin is the spoiler. I'm guessing either Arkin or Breslin will pull off an upset, but not simultaneously.

Best Actor in a Leading Role
Leonardo DiCaprio“Blood Diamond”
Ryan Gosling“Half Nelson”
Peter O'Toole“Venus”
Will Smith“The Pursuit of Happyness”
Forest Whitaker *“The Last King of Scotland”

Predix: Whitaker is the frontrunner, and he deserves it for the passion that he soaks his craft in. O'Toole is second only because he has lost 7 times before, and voters may choose him out of sympathy only.

Best Actress in a Leading Role
Penélope Cruz“Volver”
Judi Dench“Notes on a Scandal”
Helen Mirren *“The Queen”
Meryl Streep“The Devil Wears Prada”
Kate Winslet“Little Children”

Predix: I don't think there is a need for discussion. Mirren has achieved lock status, and is as definite to winning as Julia Roberts did in 2000. Streep is a distant second. Comedy is always underrated and Streep is sheer delight in her comic turn.

Best Picture
“Babel”*
“The Departed”
“Letters from Iwo Jima”
“Little Miss Sunshine”
“The Queen”

This is the most wide open oscar race in recent memory. The various films have awards spread out between them, so any is possible. My guess is Babel or LMS. Babel brings forward an all important message - communication barriers and the lack of listening/understanding, a universal theme that is all the more imperative in this age of war and terrorism. Other pluses include its scale of production - the largest compared to the other noms as it spans 3 continents, and also let's not forget the so-called important editing nom. Most BPs come with best editing wins. The last BP to overrule this convention was 1980's "Ordinary People". This year only "Babel" and "The Departed" scored editing nods, and are therefore considered the frontrunners by default. "LMS" is the dark horse and underdog. It is the odd one out in the group, and in this time and turmoil, perhaps a comedy will be awarded a win again. A lot of people think "LMS" is too slight and feel good to take the top prize, but I think it is underrated. Many scenes are too familiar, hence we take them for granted, but it is a reflection of ourselves, and I somehow feel it is more important that people really think.

And in the words of Meryl Streep, "That's all".

Letter From An Unknown Woman

最近在网上读了一篇关于一部老电影的剧情简介，感动久久不息。这就是1948由当年金牌女主角Joan Fontaine主演的爱情悲剧“Letter From An Unknown Woman”。

此片推出时，在美国反应平平，也没有入围任何奖项。然而和“Citizen Kane”一样，它经得起时间的考验，半个世纪后的今天仍然是电影系学生热爱讨论的影片。几年前，内地导演徐静蕾更将它改编，排成中文片。

故事很简单，主要讲述一个女子用尽大半辈子去狂恋、迷恋、暗恋一个始终记不起她的男人。严格来说他们的人生只交叉过三回，每次她抱着希望与他相逢，但每次男人只把她当成一个新猎物，让她带着失望而归。为了这个男人，她离家出走、未婚先孕、还因为生活嫁了一个她不爱的男人。最后她与儿子患了致命传染病，在她临死前，她终于写了一封信给男人，倾诉这段缠绕她一生的爱恋，为她遗憾的生命做个了结。

电影一开始，男主角的仆人接到了一个妒忌丈夫的邀约，指男主角勾引他妻子，希望他们能进行一场生死决斗。男主角嗤之以鼻，平日捏花惹草的他对这类指控司空见惯，他甚至不记得这是哪个女人的丈夫。但因为听闻对方是神剑手，于是他打算连夜逃跑。这时仆人带来一封没有署名的信，笔者正是女主角。

信写道：“By the time you read this letter, I may be dead. I have so much to tell you and perhaps very little time. Will I ever send it? I don't know. I must find strength to write now before it's too late, and as I write it may become clear that what happened to us had its own reason beyond our poor understanding. If this reaches you, you will know how I became yours, when you didn't know who I was, or even that I existed.”

多么凄美的字句，多么心碎的决裂。对男人而言，她不过是段露水姻缘，但对女人来说，他却是她一生的主宰。在他来不及知道他所拥有的，他已经失去了。

故事的最终，男主角终于从尘封的记忆里记起了女人，然而他始终不知道她的名字。这时仆人告诉了他，女人叫“Lisa”。连仆人都记得她，自己却一直漠视她的存在，男人十分惭愧。从信中，他知道那位要和他一决生死的正是女人的丈夫。男主角嘴里不断念着“Lisa”，最后他决定了赴约，面对女人丈夫的挑战，以他仅有的生命报答女人一世的深情......

好久不见

我们六、七年没见面了。我和我的朋友。

我们中一认识，一路同校到高中。后来我们到不同大学就读，分道扬镳，就几乎断了音讯。但由于生日日期相近,几乎每年还是会捎来生日祝福。今年也不例外。我在简单的简讯里加上一句客套的“Let's meet up soon”，没想到她爽快地提议几天后见面,于是我们重逢了。

多年不见，我当然有点担心我我们之间会存有隔阂，没想到，我们仍然有默契，一个下午说说笑笑，相处得比我们从前还融洽。时光仿佛倒流到我们的青葱岁月，刹那间我有种错觉，好像我们这些年从来没有分开过。

散会时，我知道我们会继续联络，而且无须再等个六、七年。原来真正的朋友就身边的影子一样，即使许久不见、不留意，一个转身，就会发现他一直都在。