Saturday, December 17, 2005
Holding out for a hero - Bonnie Tyler
Peco faces-off with the best Ping Pong player in the tournament during the semi-finals. His knee is strapped-up due to an injury and he's playing against his coach's advise. But there is a smile on his face - that very same mischievous one, almost bordering on arrogance. As he prepared to serve, he cries out "Enter the HERO!!!!!"
Movie poster
I went for the last Jap movie screening for the term last nite. "Ping Pong". The tagline read "It depicts Ping Pong like Matrix". That meant it was a must see for me!
The verdict? Brilliant! (only one minor complaint - why was the player from China speaking in Cantonese???). No, it was not like wat I expected - it was different. None of the Western Hollywood crap that we see so much these days. Sure, there were some nice shots of "Matrix-style" jumps during the games, close-up shots of the bat and the ball (including one which showed how the rubber on the paddle made contact wif the ball), bullet-time shots, high speed shots, slo-mo - you get the drift.
Call me Mr. Peco!!!!
Pic obtained from DVDTimes
But (thankfully?), those were just the side dishes. At the heart of it, one of the main messages (yeah, one of the problems on Jap movies is that they sumtimes try to focus on too many things. But then again, life is never straight-forward, is it?) is that of frenship.
No spoilers here. Read on.
It tells the tale of 2 childhood frens - Peco and "Smile" (called that cuz he never smiles - well, almost never!) who have nothing in common save for one thing - Ping Pong.
Yet, they became the best-est of frens. I liked the way how they just seem to compliment each other wif their differences in attitude towards everything. It seemed almost like they were made for each other.
You see, when they were young, Peco took Smile in as a fren and came to his rescue when no one cared for him. Peco taught Smile how to play Ping Pong. Peco is Smile's "Hero"!
But what I thought was absolutely brilliant was the point in the movie when the lines of who is the hero is blurred. Is Peco really Smile's hero or is it the other way round? Does Peco need Smile more than Smile needs Peco?
It really made me think of the frens that I have had - and how they have been heroes to me. My life has been filled wif heroes of all kinds of shapes and ages, gender and races. I thank God for them all. There were times when I assumed the role of a hero to them. It was a wonderful twist to the tale when I was in the gutter and these people became my heroes.
That's wat frenships are all about. Not so much of how much one needs the other but how the frenship remains no matter wat happens, how the frens are always there for each other.
As Christmas draws near, I am reminded of the greatest hero ever - Jesus, who gave up all his glory to come and save us who were destined to perish. And men will live forevermore because of Christmas Day. Hallelujah, what a hero!
Movie poster
I went for the last Jap movie screening for the term last nite. "Ping Pong". The tagline read "It depicts Ping Pong like Matrix". That meant it was a must see for me!
The verdict? Brilliant! (only one minor complaint - why was the player from China speaking in Cantonese???). No, it was not like wat I expected - it was different. None of the Western Hollywood crap that we see so much these days. Sure, there were some nice shots of "Matrix-style" jumps during the games, close-up shots of the bat and the ball (including one which showed how the rubber on the paddle made contact wif the ball), bullet-time shots, high speed shots, slo-mo - you get the drift.
Call me Mr. Peco!!!!
Pic obtained from DVDTimes
But (thankfully?), those were just the side dishes. At the heart of it, one of the main messages (yeah, one of the problems on Jap movies is that they sumtimes try to focus on too many things. But then again, life is never straight-forward, is it?) is that of frenship.
No spoilers here. Read on.
It tells the tale of 2 childhood frens - Peco and "Smile" (called that cuz he never smiles - well, almost never!) who have nothing in common save for one thing - Ping Pong.
Yet, they became the best-est of frens. I liked the way how they just seem to compliment each other wif their differences in attitude towards everything. It seemed almost like they were made for each other.
You see, when they were young, Peco took Smile in as a fren and came to his rescue when no one cared for him. Peco taught Smile how to play Ping Pong. Peco is Smile's "Hero"!
But what I thought was absolutely brilliant was the point in the movie when the lines of who is the hero is blurred. Is Peco really Smile's hero or is it the other way round? Does Peco need Smile more than Smile needs Peco?
It really made me think of the frens that I have had - and how they have been heroes to me. My life has been filled wif heroes of all kinds of shapes and ages, gender and races. I thank God for them all. There were times when I assumed the role of a hero to them. It was a wonderful twist to the tale when I was in the gutter and these people became my heroes.
That's wat frenships are all about. Not so much of how much one needs the other but how the frenship remains no matter wat happens, how the frens are always there for each other.
As Christmas draws near, I am reminded of the greatest hero ever - Jesus, who gave up all his glory to come and save us who were destined to perish. And men will live forevermore because of Christmas Day. Hallelujah, what a hero!
Did you ever know that you're my hero
And everything I would like to be
I can fly higher than an eagle
'Cause you are the wind beneath my wings
Larry J. Henley / Jeff Alan Silbar
And everything I would like to be
I can fly higher than an eagle
'Cause you are the wind beneath my wings
Larry J. Henley / Jeff Alan Silbar
# posted by imissw : 10:47:00 am
