The Last Waltz (Movie, 1978)

This is truly a gem of a film. It's a story about a band that toured the country, made some good music, got famous, and then stopped. It's also a metaphor for a musical form that rose, blossomed, and fell. It's a study in the craft of filming a musical event. But above all it's a powerhouse blockbuster of a rock concert that blows you away. "The Last Waltz" metaphorically represents the last great expression of rock.

"The Band" displayed a near perfect blend of musical styles paying homage to the blues and country music while laying down a good rock and roll sound. Check out young Eric Clapton, Joni Mitchell, and Van Morrison as well as Muddy Waters on special guest appearances on this video.

Food, Inc. (2008, Documentary)

This documentary is a well rounded, in-depth introduction to the horrors behind why a hamburger costs less than a bag of carrots. It's effectively infuriating due to the way it exposes the profound levels of government and corporate corruption that are destroying our lives.

Food, Inc. shows how in the last fifty years the US agriculture industry has come to control the nation's food supply for maximum profits through feed lots, genetically modified organisms, lobbied legislation, exploited labor, and legal threats.

It is a very good documentary in its own right.

Michael Jackson's This Is It (2009, Documentary)

King of Pop

What we see in this unmissable two-hour concert film, culled from 120 hours of digital-video footage of Jackson rehearsing for a promised comeback that ended with his death at age 50 on June 25th, is a world-class performer trying to make the MJ on stage match the MJ in his head.

During prep time from March to June last year, director Kenny Ortega caters to the every whim of his fragile, passive-aggressive star, knowing instinctively that yelling will only produce pouting not results. It’s patently obvious that Jackson had surrounded himself with a cadre of slathering yes-men, which helps you understand why he might have been trapped in a state of arrested development.

All the classics are here, and not only are we able to see intimate footage of Jackson rehearsing but we also get a preview of the bespoke films and stunts that were set to accompany each song.

But this is a concert film, and, as such, it’s utterly engaging from beginning to end. His soul is still dancing.

非常完美 (愛情/喜劇, 2009)

劇本支離破碎一盤散沙。完全是沖著章子怡、范冰冰、林心如、姚晨四大美女及蘇志燮、何潤東兩大帥哥。但作為章子怡首次監製主演的轉型之作，影片并非片名一樣非常完美。

　

很差，完全是在浪费生命。

Kaiser Friends gathering, 03/2010

Another happy gathering from old friends, retired or working.

We all had a lot to chat, plus exchanging ideas and/or opinions about life. Treasure the moment, so everyone agreed.

大江大海 1949 (龍應台)

所有的顛沛流離，最後都由大江走向大海；
所有的生離死別，都發生在某一個車站、碼頭。上了船，就是一生。

醞釀十年、走過三大洋五大洲，耗時三百八十天，行腳香港、長春、南京、瀋陽、馬祖、台東、屏東......從父母親的1949年出發，看民族的流亡遷徙，看上一代的生死離散，傾聽戰後的倖存者、鄉下的老人家。

龍應台說，「我再怎麼寫，都不能給他們萬分之一的溫情與正義」。藉由文學的溫熱，龍應台希望引領讀者一同誠實地、認真地重新梳理六十年前的這段歷史，看見一整代人「隱忍不言的傷」，重新凝視關於人的尊嚴以及生命價值，用最謙卑的心，寫出跨民族、跨歷史、跨省籍的一本書。

這本書的寫作手法，運用不少雞雞婆婆的話，譬如說：“他做夢也没有想到，這場雨一躲就是六十年。” 再說，即便在引用平實的史料的時候，龍應台也壓抑不住修辭的衝動。引用英國青島領事日記，她也要耍耍比喻：“他記載這一天，不帶情感，像一個隱藏在碼頭上空的攝像機"。令人有一種畫蛇添足之感。

《大江大海》中也有精彩的内容，那就是未被文學加工的訪談錄，還有歷史材料的原文照登。這是本可讀的書,至少客觀上還原了歷史的真實,讀來發人深省.

The Hurt Locker (2008, Movie)

"War is a drug," writes Christopher Hedges in the epigraph that precedes "The Hurt Locker."

Director Kathryn Bigelow comprehends this observation and conveys it in this captivating, completely immersing action thriller. "The Hurt Locker" just happens to be set in Iraq in 2004, but, like the best films, transcends time and place , and in the process attains something universal and enduring. The Hurt Locker doesn't preach. Bigelow builds a combustible drama that shakes you in ways you don't see coming. "The Hurt Locker" is a great movie, period.

For the entire two hours, we are plunged into the dizzying, disorienting world of the soldiers who disarm what Americans have come to know as IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices) or roadside bombs, neither of which term does full justice to the carnage they inflict.

"The Hurt Locker" owes much of its success to its script, which was written by journalist Mark Boal after he was embedded with an elite Army EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) squad for several weeks.