watched 4 movies in total these 2 days (out of which 2 i'd watched before).. 3 in a row today, quite a heavy dosage manz. not exactly for pleasure as cinematic pleasure ought to be (cinematic pressure as my friend called it. haha) but quite enjoyed the shows.. much better than the first few. haha. and the common thing about these shows is that they got me thinking.

the first was From Hell... horror flick about the serial killer back in the 19th century (if i'm not wrong) who went around killing prostitues- Jack the Ripper. beneath all the gory killings, it showed the superficial society where the highly educated and rich were regarded as 'gentlemen' who should not be suspected of the crime. and of cos the twist of most stories will always be the other way round. and no exception for this film.

next was 12 storeys by Eric Khoo. i like that show. i've always like local shows with their touch of local flavor. it's a chronicle of life, dipicting typical Singaporean pysche in a subtle way with the element of humor. or perhaps it's cynicism? it shows the things that are happening around us everday. the way people act. one thing about watching local shows like that are that heavy national issues are brought up with humour. in a sense they're entertaining yet trigger my thoughts.

Bowling for Columbine- Micheal Moore probed into the issue of gun violence in US. watched it in JC before during GP lesson but can't really remember the details. it reminded me that i wrote a strory based on the Columbine High School massacre, which the documentary is based on, during sec sch. it's just sadness. sadness for the people who were victims of it and for the ones who committed it as well. the irony and cynicism was brought across with the song 'What a Wonderful World' with images of killings around the world. indeed, what a 'wonderful world' we're living in. the world isn't all about bad doings, but it's not wonderful afterall. while watching the show, a sudden contrast came to mind. the contrast between the movie Home Alone and Bowling for Columbine.

finally In Mood for Love, the well-known artsy-fartsy film of Wong Kar Wai. despite watching it for the second time, i still failed to fully understand the show. maybe it's too cheem for me la. anywayz, according to the lecturer, the show brings about a sense of nostalgia. but he said that most of us in our 20s, there's nothing to be nostalgic about but i disagree with it. totally.

nos·tal·gi·a

1) A bittersweet longing for things, persons, or situations of the past.
2) The condition of being homesick; homesickness.

it was not stated in the meaning how long ago the past ought to be, so to me, anyone who starts have memory of the past is capable of being nostalgic. things that happened 20 yrs ago were the past, but things that happned 5 yrs ago were also the past. so feeling nostalgic is not just the priviledge of the older people.

anywayz, those above are just random thoughts of the films. really gotto hit the books.