果然，电影拍得好看，在African-American Civil Rights Movement的历史背景上，它避开了煽情，娓娓地说着三位非裔女性的生活故事。有时候轻松活泼，有时候严肃沉重，有时候幽默有趣……娱乐性丰富的同时又引人深思。我们看着Katherine Johnson, Mary Jackson 和 Dorothy Vaughan如何在事业上、家庭里、生活中处理种族及性别歧视课题，也看着她们如何互相鼓励互相扶持。她们各自都是颗闪耀的星星，身上都有傲骨，在道道不通的环境里走出了一条大道。
书里我印象较深刻的一幕
由于这真实故事本身非常激励感人，导演舍弃了花俏，只是很忠厚老实地把Katherine Johnson, Mary Jackson和Dorothy Vaughan的故事简简单单地说了一遍。当然，这毕竟是电影，导演也并没有完全忠于史实，但当中的更改我是能够接受的。Kevin Costner、Kirsten Dunst和Jim Parsons的角色是虚构的，为的是增加电影的戏剧性。（否则也没有白人上司用铁锤把"Coloreds Only” bathroom sign拆下的一幕、否则也没有"Here at NASA we all pee the same color"这样的对白）
(If you have yet to watch the original trilogy, then please don't read this. Tons of spoilers here. But then, again, if you haven't watch the original trilogy, I'm sure you are not a Star Wars fan and this post has nothing to do with you. If you are a Star Wars fans but unfortunately still not able to watch Rogue One due to circumstances, I share your pain and I'm so sorry for you. There are no spoilers here, unless you haven't watch the trailers. Well, then again, if you haven't watch the Rogue One trailers, I'm sure you are not really a fan and this post has nothing to do with you either)
If you grow up watching the original trilogy, THIS is the prequel that you actually wanted. (Well, maybe "prequel" is now such a bad word for Star Wars fans, Disney decided to use "spin-off" instead of "prequel" in all their marketing efforts). Rogue One ends a mere 10 minutes before the opening of the original Star Wars movie. It gives more depth and strength to Star Wars (those younger generations call it "Episode IV: A New Hope"), it makes me appreciate Star Wars more, it gives more weight on that opening crawl that caught our attention almost 40 years ago......If you always wonder about the exhaust port, the lack of Rebel Alliances as you grow older, Rogue One gives you the answers.
With "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away....." and not following by the iconic opening crawl, we fans were transported into something familiar but different.
First of all, there's no John Williams. It is not a Star Wars movie without John Williams. Period. (John, please live long and prosper). No, don't get me wrong, it is not that Michael Giacchino is not qualified, but John Williams IS part of Star Wars universe. (Luckily Giacchino still using the Imperial March and the cascading brass motifs).
Though Star Wars is always about "war" but Rogue One is the real war movie in the Star Wars universe. The final battle shows the real capability of Gareth Edwards. The stakes are higher, its battles are more violent and militaristic. The scope of the mass casualties incurred in ground and air assaults makes us cry for every unsung heroes in human history. The final battle makes Rogue One a Star Wars story worth telling.
Though I really enjoy watching Rogue One (it made me so excited that I have to do the original trilogy + The Force Awaken marathon a few hours after watching it), and I'm sure it will always be included in my Star Wars Marathon (be in original trilogy marathon or full marathon), it lacks of the joyous spark between characters that defines the original trilogy. Most of the new characters in this movie seems interesting but underutilized (except for K-2SO). Worse still, they don't spark the kind of chemistry between Luke, Leia, and Han, or between Rey, Finn and Poe. Well, they are not Hayden-Christensen-and-Natalie-Portman kind of bad chemistry, but you don't fall in love with the ensemble. The way they interact on screen make you suspect that they are not friends off screen.
Rogue One is darker and grimmer, but it is still a nostalgia piece to Star Wars fans. And by now, I'm sure you already know that Darth Vader is in Rogue One. If Darth Vader used to give you nightmares as a kid, wait until you see Rogue One! I am sure thousands of Star Wars fans secretly cried tears of joy! If you only knew the power of the Dark Side! Darth Vader alone worth the price of the ticket. So Star Wars fans, if you are still skeptical, don't be. Go watch Rogue One NOW!
去年，我百忙中还是抽空看了首场The Force Awakens，还和妹妹各打扮成Luke和Leia。看了半夜场出来仍然兴奋莫名，回到家还吃夜宵（半夜四点的还算夜宵吗？）才睡觉。六点半起床照样去上班，只是那阵子太忙，反而没时间给The Force Awakens写观后感什么的。我弟弟说不可思议，我也这么认为。
我用Google Maps的Lord of the Rings Filming Location Map找到了Mount Victoria上的Hobbiton Trail。（为了到Mount Victoria，我特地穿了我的LOTR/Calvin and Hobbes Mash-up T Shirt，本来是为了自爽，后来才发现还真有个“Hobbiton Trail”，当然要拍照留念一下。）然后，一行人就开始自导自演自乐了一轮。
Because coincidentally today is a replacement holiday, and because I have 2 toys awaiting in my drawer dying to celebrate May the 4th, of course I planned for something too when everyone in the Star Wars universe is excited.
First, I started with an easy one as warm up. Though totally not challenging, it is REAL fun to start my day with this.
Master Yoda had an easy win
After having some fun photo session with Master Yoda, I started the second project. First of all, this 3D puzzle is not easy, secondly, I CANNOT read Japanese! Luckily all schematic diagram is the same so I could pick up the pace after first few pieces.
Sometimes it involved finding the correct pieces, sometimes I have to roll the pieces on pen so that I could get the roundness I want, sometimes it tried to kill me with all the tiny bends holes.
Patiently(of course, “Patience you must have”), pieces by pieces, parts by parts, I built my Millennium Falcon while waiting for Han Solo and Chewie to come home :)
Thank you, Robin William. You made me laugh, and you made me cry.
When I'm at the transition stage from preteen to teenage, I asked a lot of questions about life. I'm still asking today, but it was Death Poets Society that made that transition smooth and less painful.
为了印证，我就给他们写了封电邮。他们的客户服务态度一流，工作人员(Threadless Help Ambassador) Crystal二十四小时内已经给我回复。虽然只是普通邮寄（此公司暂时没有提供海外速递服务），但他们肯定了美国邮局已经把邮包寄离美国，并给我一个编号，好让我可以尝试向马来西亚邮政局咨询。
我到POS Malaysia的网站找来找去，就是找不着online tracking的方法，于是最后决定给他们打电话。接听的是一名女士。
我问：“我有一个两个月前从美国寄来的邮包至今仍未收到，是否有什么法子可以查一查出了什么事故？”
她说:"tak boleh"
我说：“美国那方有给我一个编号。”
她说:"Itu bukan poslaju, tak boleh track"
我问：“如果我给你我的名字呢？”
她说:"tak boleh"
我问：“如果我给你我的地址呢？”
她说:"tak boleh"
我问：“我是不是应该去海关局问一问？”
她说:"tak boleh"
我在自己国家的邮政局碰了钉子，只好硬着头皮再给Crystal写信，要求他让美国邮局查一查是否卡在大马海关。也不知道是不是他们已经习惯了发展中国家的低效率，还是他们懒得和他国邮局沟通，反正Crystal说:"Oh no! At this point, we have to assume the order was lost in transit."她让我选择退款、Threadless credit或是从新给我寄上我原本订购的Ｔ恤。我还是选择了后者。
几天后Crystal告诉我其中一件已经断货，问我可要另选一个款式，或是Threadless credit，或是退款。我还是笃定地另选一件。最终，我在五月二十九日收到了Threadless证实把新邮包寄出的电邮，说Expected delivery is between June 14 & June 28, but no later than July 12，他们还给我送上十元美金的ｅ固本，以示道歉的诚意呢！一眨眼已经是七月，我以为我的邮购包裹应该是“冬瓜水”了。心里暗自嘀咕，当以美金四十元买个教训就是了，什么鬼邮购！
今天回家看见包裹就放在饭桌上，"Smallish Bag. Big Ideas Inside"，四十美元失而复反，兴奋得什么似的，赶紧打开包裹，把衣服排在床上拍照。薇和我等了几个月的Life of Pie终于来啦～
Accidentally saw this on Youtube and I love it!! Can't wait for this show!
Micheal J. Fox is an important part of my childhood. Family Ties is practically one of my English teachers in my earlier life, where I have "weekly evening classes" for years; Back to the Future is one of my all time favorites, where I have the trilogy in VHS, VCD, DVD, and Blu-ray.
I am not as smart, I am not as nerd, I am not as blunt, I am not as socially awkward as he does, but yes, I do think I can relate to Sheldon Cooper. (hopefully I am not 1/10 as arrogant as he is). He is just the extreme version of many of us.....
I have a lot to say, about why I can relate to Sheldon Cooper. However, instead of starting to explain myself, I would like to start with one simple crazy reason: Star Wars Fans.
If you want to know how we siblings trigger, discuss and execute our year-end-Star-Wars-Marathon, the enthusiasm level is probably almost like this:
Does anyone I know out there watched Bud Spencer and Terence Hill's movies before? I used to love them a lot when I was in primary school because my dad is a fan and we used to rent a lot of their movies VHR back then.
I don't know how my brain function. Out of no where, suddenly, I recalled the beautiful bright blue eyes of Terence Hill, and those funny scenes that brighten my warm afternoons during school holidays...
I guess it is time for me to ask En to download some old movies of them for me :)
We HAVE TO visit Hoover Dam, of course it is an engineering wonder, but more importantly, we watched The Transformers :) [Who knows maybe there is actually a secret base of Sector Seven here. haha!]
We reached here late and missed the last guided tour of the dam. Since we can't tour and learn about the inside, we decided to walk around and take some photos before heading to souvenir shops for some Transformers / Hoover Dam fridge magnets.
It's a very warm evening. The sun light made it hard to take good photos, but I still love the fact that all the photos are with blue blue sky :)
I have watched documentaries about Hoover Dam before, so I could understand why the Americans are so proud of this dam. This engineering wonder was built in year 1933, and I think it is safe to say that it helped the born of the Sin City Las Vegas.
Walking near the penstock towers was fun. I couldn't help but imagine a few Transformers will land on this place any minute from now and start fighting and I couldn't help start calculating the odds of getting out of here alive :)
After a short walk around the area, we finally ended up in the souvenir shop. Both of us was SOOOOO DISAPPOINTED with the souvenir shop at Hoover Dam. The souvenirs sold are with very bad quality, and super expensive! The fridge magnets / T-shirts / mugs are all badly printed with some lousy photos of the dam. And believe it or not, I still manage to find some year 2000 magnets, still on sale!?
And of course, most importantly, we don't see a single image of Transformers. I thought it should be a good way to sell Transformers at Hoover Dam? (Well, maybe this is just some crazy ideas from a non-American-tourist)
So, even though we'd like to buy a fridge magnet at every stop, both of us decided to skip Hoover Dam. Better continue our journey to Las Vegas before it's too late (Or it is never too late to reach Las Vegas?!)
On our way out, we saw a "vista point" and hence, as usual, I MUST go there and have a look. And what a surprise, Lake Mead looks so good from here. A very good conclusion for our Hoover Dam visit :)
