The Wind-up Bird Chronicle

By Haruki Murakami
Translated by Jay Rubin

The story tells the tale of Toru Okada, a recently unemployed but otherwise ordinary guy, who lives in Suburban Tokyo with his wife Kumiko and their pet cat Noboru Wataya (who shares the same name that of Kumiko's brother). Soon after the sudden disappearance of the pet cat and the subsequence departure of his wife, Toru's seemingly ordinary life has been turned upside-down. In the hope of getting his wife back, Toru embarks on this bizare journey and encounters characters who lead him to anything but ordinary: a 16-year-old death-obsessed girl, a pair of psychic sisters, a war lieutenant and a mum who is fashion-obsessed and a son who cannot speak, each with a different story of their own.

Originally published in three books in the Japanese version, 'The Thieving Magpie', 'Bird as Prophet' and 'The Birdcatcher', 'The Wind-up Bird Chronicle' is beautifully written, yet bizare and upsetting.

Upon reading the opening chapter, which was filled with the ordinary events of household chores, the search of the disappeared pet cat and the explicit yet predictable telephone calls, one would have wondered where these could lead us to. However, soon after the introduction of Malta Kano, the elder of the psychic sisters, things seemed to have taken the sharp turn - all of a sudden, Toru, and we as the readers, were thrown into this deep sea of riddles. Not entirely sure what was going on, all we could do was to keep reading on as it was the only way to find out the meaning hidden behind. Everything seemed to have happened for a reason, and yet the reason only became apparent when one reached the end of the book.

Each chapter was unique and well presented; in fact some of the chapters served a brilliant short story just on it own. The loose-ends of each chapter somehow connected up as the story unfolded. How did Murakami write so beautifully while weaving the threads of stories into layers of silk? I read with deep admiration and jealousy.

One may feel cheated towards the end; as Murakami had left some of the question unanswered and explanations to our own imagination. However, dream and imagination are very powerful tools, as was emphasized in the main story theme.

Murakami has unsettled our minds with his powerful, brutal but yet poetic writing.

My Blueberry Nights (2007)

Directed by Kar Wai Wong

Starring Norah Jones, Jude Law, Natalie Portman

In the latest melodrama piece by Kar Wai Wong, we saw Elizabeth (Norah Jones) on a soul-searching journey across the States. Whilst searching her answer for love, she encountered various offbeat personalities along the way.

I have always been a big fan of Kar Wai Wong and my favourite movie is Chungking Express. After missing Wong's latest offer My Blueberry Nights at the cinema, I finally watched it on DVD at home tonight.

The idea of My Blueberry Nights seemed somewhat to be derived from Faye Wong's character in Chungking Express, for which a girl left town on a soul-searching journey and returned to find her true love. As Wong's debut Hollywood directed piece, Wong kept his style and My Blueberry Nights was filled with excellent cinematography and beautiful music. Norah Jones also surprised us as the Leading Actress as this was her debut movie.

As a movie about road journey, Wong spent very little screentime on the vast landscape and the journey itself. A lot of the scenes were staged on set and between two characters at a time. Wong is famous for creating memorable dialogues in his movies; however, there were hardly any in My Blueberry Nights. Was it simply a case of lost in translation? Despite the strong cast, all the characters in the movie seemed sketchy.

My Blueberry Nights felt rather like a footnote despite the good efforts from all.

I am Legend (2007)

Directed by Francis Lawrence
Starring Will Smith

2012, New York City. Years after the epidemic killed the majority of mankind and turned the rest into vampire-like living-dead (aka the Darkseekers), it seemed that Robert Neville (Will Smith) was the last man on earth.

Accompanied by Sam the canine, surrounded by the blood-thirst Darkseekers and the motionless mannequins, Neville is experimenting on his own immune blood, in a desparate bid to find a cure to save the human race.

As 'originality' becoming a myth in Hollywood, Will Smith's 'I am Legend' is the third attempt on adapting Richard Matheson's 1954 cult novel onto the big screen and the first one bearing the original title.

Set in the 2012 New York City, Robert Neville, an Army scientist, seemed to be the only human survivor in the epidemic outbreak. Whilst the virus killed the majority of mankind, it turned the rest into the seemingly 'mindless' and blood-thirst vampire-like creatures. Robert tried to reverse the effects of the virus by testing his own immune blood on such creatures he captured.

For the majority of the screentime we saw Will Smith's solo act as Neville, in search of other survivors and the cure in the almost emptied New York City. One can't helped but be reminded of the disastrous movie Castaway as Will Smith started conversing with one of the mannequins he dressed up at the local video rental store. Will Smith certainly gave his best shot in pulling off the solo act; however, with the poorly written scripts the sense of loneliness depicted became rather amusing and laughable.

The introduction of the mum and son characters came too late; by then the audience were no longer interested as to whether the characters would survive the day. Poor CGIs, odd plotholes and mono-dialogues merely drifted the audience's interest away. Too many scenes left unexplained and one started to wonder whether they were supposed to have read the novel before watching the movie.

'I am Legend' may possibly be one of the worst remakes of all times.

We Stand as One

Artist: HOCC (Denise Ho)

Tracklist:
1. 光明會
2. 光明會 (YINGCFOO MIX)
3. 光明會 (HOBING MIX)
4. 光明會 (LEE DUEN HAN MIX)
5. 光明會 (DAFREAK MIX)
6. 嘆息橋

We see the 2007 HOCC with her single release 'We stand as one'. It is an unusual practice in Hong Kong music industry to produce a single; as there is usually not enough market to cover the cost. This single was released though as a promotional material for HOCC's upcoming concert 'Live in Unity (Part II)' in mid-January.

In the production of this single, HOCC once again worked with the artists who brought the best out of her. There were 2 songs in this single; a fast song (track 1) and a slow song (track 6). HOCC wrote the basic tune for both songs. Lyrics were done by the brilliant Wyman Wong; the music was arranged by the Ching Shan Orchestra, which consists of Ying C Foo, Ho Bing, Lee Duen Han and Carl Wong. Each of them wrote a remix version individually for track 1 (track 2 - 5).

The upbeat Track 1 (光明會) was loved by most Hong Kong disc jockeys and had gained a lot of praise and awards for HOCC. The music was 'ear-catching'; I personally think HOCC was struggling with some of her high notes but it was a generally good performance. The remixes were such a playful idea and they showed what each member of the Ching Shan Orchestra is particular fond of: Rock 'n Roll (Ying C Foo), Classical (Ho Bing), Jazz (Lee Duen Han) and Dance (Carl Wong).

With Wyman Wong's powerful lyrics, track 6 (嘆息橋) was such a beautiful song. Inspired by Ponte Dei Sospiri, the famous bridge in Venice, the song was about the faith between lovers. The legend has it that if the lovers kiss underneath Ponte Dei Sospiri when the church bell goes, then the pair will be together forever. '看橋樑多堅固 亦會動搖 日後重遊水都 都可以沒嘆息橋 這浮城都恐怕會沒進浪潮 但是情人的堅貞不會受干擾 若我這樣信 奇蹟的閃光將照耀 成事嗎 沒有緊要 願已許了 就滿足了 (The bridge may fall and it may be gone. The city may be filled with turbulence but lover's faith will not be affected. If i believe then miracle will be shining. It does not matter whether it succeeds or not; wishes are made and that is enough.)' The music was soothing as well and it brought us a sense of tranquility. It was as if we were boating in Venice as the music was played.

This latest release by HOCC is overall good; however, we cannot help but be reminded of HOCC's mentor Anita Mui.

The Departed (2006)

Directed by Martin Scorsese
Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg

An undercover was placed within the Irish Mafia and a mob member was infiltrating the Boston police force. Racing against time, both of them were trying to reveal each other's real identity before they got caught themselves.

A Hollywood adaptation of the Hong Kong gangster hit 'Infernal Affairs' (2002), one cannot help but compare the two. If you have seen the latter, then you will probably agree that the Hollywood movie-makers have once again messed up such a brilliant and original story by 'Americanising' it.

Putting that aside and judging The Departed on its own, it would be just a passable watch. Set in the present Boston, the movie was about identities. An undercover in the Irish Mafia and a mole in the police force were both struggling to act up while trying to maintain their true identities and catch the rat in the opposite force. A typical gangster story with a touch of twist in the plot, The Departed was violent, bruised and bloody. Heavy dialogues and foul-languages were used; some were totally unnecessary. With loud music constantly playing in the background in most of the scenes, it became hard to decipher what the characters had said.

A lot of talking and very few actions meant that the prolonged runtime seemed even longer. However, when the movie ended it felt like the director was wrapping things up too quickly. Things were left unanswered; too many subplots were branched out and at the end they were merely left for the audience to interpret through their own imagination. There were a lot of implausiblity, logical impossibilities and plot holes in the story.

An A-list cast was selected but even with fine acting, none of them was likeable or memorable. Towards the end of the movie you just do not feel any sympathy for any of the characters.

Supposedly a dark drama movie, the audience I was with simply laughed at the screen. Yes, there was intended comedy in the movie to lighten up the atmosphere; however, what I found was that more people were laughing at the unintended jokes, which were more of the editing problems or lack of preliminary research.

If you want to watch the Departed and you have a friend who is fluent in Cantonese, make sure you invite them to go with you. That will probably brighten up your friend's day.

The Devil Wears Prada (2006)

Directed by David Frankel
Starring Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt

Adapted from Laura Weisberger's bestseller, The Devil Wears Prada saw Andrea Sachs (Anne Hathaway)'s transformation from a bookish graduate into a glamorous assistant whilst working for Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) at fashion magazine Runway.

Andrea was initially hired by Miranda not because of how she dressed but for her intellect. A size 6 with no sense of style, Andrea clearly would not fit in with the rest of the girls at Runway.

It might be 'a job millions of girls would die for'; however, it was a hell of a job to be Miranda's second assistant because Miranda was not easy to please. There were never-ending tasks to accomplish and impossible demands from Miranda at all times.

Soon Andrea realised that a complete makeover might be a boost to her confidence at work. She took the step but with the new look and more demands placed on her, Andrea started to lose her family, friends and her private life. Was this what she really wanted in her life?

The Devil Wears Prada was one stylish chick-flick.

Meryl Streep was on her top form as Miranda Priestly, the boss-from-hell. She delivered her lines very well (some of her lines were quite long, e.g. the scene at the beginning of the movie when she commanded her assistant with an extremely long list of tasks) and she added a humane touch to this cold, mean and cruel character. Emily Blunt was the surprise in the movie; as Emily, Miranda's first assistant, she managed to steal every scene that she was in. Anne Hathaway held on well as Andrea, but was upstaged by Meryl and Emily with their outstanding performance.

The girls acted so well that the male characters became almost non-existent. Only Stanley Tucci was able to compete, with the role of the fashion editor Nigel.

Andrea's makeover and montage scene was probably one of the most memorable scenes from this movie. A wardrobe filled with those designer outfits would definitely be worth keeping!

As we were whisked along with the characters from one elegant fashion show/posh party to another, we would wonder very little as to why the characters were being seduced into this glamorous world of the fashion industry. However, we were left with one question, 'does it worth giving up everything else so to live this life?'

Prey

By Michael Crichton

Jack Forman, a computer programmer, had been unemployed for over 6 months and had gradually turned himself into a full-time house-husband and dad. This was not what he intended; especially when his wife Julia seemed to be different and had been spending more time away from home. Jack could not help but suspect that Julia was having an affair at work.

Deep in the Nevada dessert, in the fab plant where Julia worked, things were getting out of control. When Jack was asked to help he took on the job so that he could find out what was exactly happening with Julia. Only then did he find out it was not the affair that he needed to worry about: -

Microbots were evolving independently in the open dessert, developing a life of their own. What's worse, these microbots had been programmed to behave as predators.

And man is the prey.

In this latest book by Michael Crichton, he returned with his classic winning thriller formulas where advanced technology had gone haywire. He tried to convince us the consequences of playing like God and messing with technology. Having written about huge and massive dinosaurs in Jurassic Park, it was probably time for something extremely small, and so we had it - microbots acting like villains, and the characters in the book were battling against them.

There were a lot of dialogues between the characters in the book. A good proportion of the book was used to describe the relationships between Jack and his family and to include the odd events that had happened at Jack's house before he was called in to fix the problem at the Nevada dessert. It was refreshing to know that Crichton was trying to add some depths and background to his characters; however, it was not such a good idea to have your characters shouting at each other over the phone all the time or engaging in prolonged and boring conversations.

One thing I have always found with reading scientific thriller is that the technical terms (or jargons) are difficult to comprehend. Prey was no different. But full credit must be made to Crichton for the extensive research he conducted prior to writing this book. And if you are interested in the topic (i.e. nanotechnology, distributed intelligence), there is a bibliography at the end of the book for you to look up the relevant article.

Prey was well paced overall and had its suspenseful moments when the actions kicked in. Once again, Crichton had us convinced that we were not half as afraid as we should be. What's more? Another script on the shelf ready to be transformed into a Hollywood Action Blockbuster.