私人放映室 In-flight Cinema

前陣子回新加坡渡假, 舊地重遊感觸良多, 待日後慢慢寫來.  長途旅行於耐性和體力皆是莫大考驗, 若說有任何附加值, 便是可名正言順當十幾個小時的沙發馬鈴薯: 累了倒頭睡, 餓了按鈕喚空姐備食.  失眠和看電影像手牽手吵嘴接吻的小情人… 極損精神健康, 然墮落的愛誰能抗拒?  此趟來回觀賞了六部電影:

Returned from a vacation in Singapore a while ago, I will definitely write about my tropical revelations later.  Before I forget, I want to jot down a few notes about my in-flight cinemarathon(and the accompanying meals on board), quite the saving grace!  My eastbound journey started with The Secret Life of Walter Mitty(rather fitting :).  Not sure if all the elements worked with the pensive daydreamer's daydreams, the self-help romantic crush, and a miraculous discovery of negative no. 25 but I found Kristen Wiig singing Space Oddity irresistible and the song kind of summed all up.

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty雖然超現實場景貫穿全片,

卻處處閃耀大時代小人物生活化溫情, 選角極佳. Ben Stiller的Walter心善負責略爲自閉, 飾演他夢中情人Cheryl的Kristen Wiig則有份平易近人的美麗, 當她抱著吉它出現在Walter的白日夢悠悠唱起Space Oddity, 完全可想像宅男受到的鼓勵.

I did not realize Chinese Puzzle is actually the third in a series(some might compare the movie to the Before Sunrise trio) but was never going to miss anything with Audrey Tautou in it.  Nope, Tautou did not turn out to be a sweet looking dangerous erotomania nor a husband poisoning bored wife… this is a pure romantic comedy about a group of gorgeous Europeans living out lighthearted fantasies(and handled early midlife crisis with 'a spoonful of sugar') in the Big Apple that even a shabby apartment in lower Manhattan staged the perfect love nest.

Chinese Puzzle是另類爲愛走天涯, 法國作家Xavier的英籍同居人帶走子女與美國新歡雙宿雙飛, Xavier來到人生地不熟的紐約展開靈悟之旅.  故事主軸寫實, 插曲卻交叉荒謬的幽默, 結尾條條錯縱複雜的羈絆莞爾的有了歸宿.

Knowing the spoonful of sugar and all that, I still thoroughly enjoyed Saving Mr. Banks for its amazing cast.  Both Emma Thompson and Tom Hanks owned every duet and complemented each other in such fierce chemistry.  Hanks achieved the fine balance of charismatic Uncle Walt and the iron-fist mogul.  The sliver of vulnerability he displayed when confiding the wintery bitter childhood cut like a razor, painful but touching.  Thompson portrayed Travers with a moving complexity: the skeptical frowning, the contemptuously angled lips, the sorrowful intellects in her deep glances… resonated little Ginty, her lost love and broken dreams.  She unraveled her present with her past, each layer more profound than the previous.

Saving Mr. Banks糖衣包裝了造夢王國一段陳年往事, Mary Poppins的原作者Travers女士驕傲固執, 不得不為五斗米折腰黯然呼應童年痛失慈父的心碎.  Emma Thompson重出江湖, 演繹犀利精準, 主角配角對起戲來各個精彩, 讓人忍不住省思自己生命的迭宕.

The adorable orphan boy Sébastien with a big heart, his loyal giant mountain dog Belle… need I say more?  The scenery was spectacular, the story eloquently told and the plot arresting.

Belle et Sébastien敘述二次世界大戰期間, 孤兒Sébastien和被誤為野獸的高地牧羊犬Belle真摰的友情.  飾演Sébastien的小童星純稚溫柔並煥發堅毅的氣質, Belle的忠誠守護撫慰了年幼喪親的傷痛.  小朋友與大狗之間的溫暖互動, 襯著壯麗譎險的阿爾卑斯山景雪景, 以及納粹迫害下猶太偷渡客的悲切, 格外扣人心弦.

In 300 Rise of An Empire, among the three hundred six-pack, the two strong female characters, Queen Grogo(Lena Headey) and Persia's naval commander Artemisa(Eva Green) truly stole the show and were practically the only two elements one would or could remember from the homoerotic blood fest.   

300, Rise of An Empire是2007年那部描繪斯巴達勇士力抗邪惡波斯王的續集.  這類動漫暴力美學電影主要觀眾群爲男性, 然而以女性觀眾的角度看來也很有趣!  養眼的300六塊腹肌, 兩位勇敢美豔的女主角: 身先士卒率軍復夫仇的斯巴達皇后Grogo, 由慣飾皇后的Lena Headey主演, 風采逼人!  波斯海軍首領Artemisia身世坎坷性格絕傲, 由曾被國寶級名導演Bertolucci形容爲美到不道德的前007女郎Eva Green領銜, 活色生香再適合不過.  敗筆是那全身鑲嵌珠寶的波斯王, 說話總似透過傳聲筒, 原意大概是要強調波斯王的神威, 效果卻十分卡通.

Catherine Deneuve is the symbol of timeless French beauty and Ella sén va is everything but.  Some scenes were abrasive like Bettie's one night stand with a silly young man from the bar and her monologue at the discount furniture store.  The glimmer of French country life along the road trip was charming though.  The film had one clear message throughout:  everything expires, love, life, beauty… so live your life and life goes on.

Elle sén va故事諷刺, 法國小鎮餐館女主人Bettie年輕時曾是選美皇后, 黃昏歲月經營不善家庭不睦情路不順, 幾番荒唐挫折後意外攜初次見面的小外孫重新上路.  女主角當然是傳奇的Catherine Deneuve, 七十高壽的她其實保養得很好, 雍容典雅的眉稍眼角依稀可見當年的清麗.  但年輕時的她實在不可方物, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, The Young Girls of Rochefort乃時尚經典… 初看Ella sén va 美人遲暮, 每分鐘都是懲罰, 還好劇情曙光漸露, 以法式浪漫的清新終結灰暗.

同場加映:  I Love You Just The Way You Are

於星洲狂啖南洋美食, 海南雞飯, 肉骨茶, 五香燒豬, 絲襪奶茶… 吃得臉如滿月, 嚷著回美國要減肥.  小V連忙跑來緊緊抱著我說:  不要減不要減, 我喜歡媽咪的胖肚子!  我得意的向常嫌太座胖的LK先生示威:  Hear, hear.  This is true love :)